The Monster of Canterlot
by drnkntst
Summary: A six year old human boy is transported to Equestria by accident, he will need a home. Everyone needs shelter, protection and love to live a happy life, but who could love a predator from another world? Luckily for young Chris, somepony steps up to the plate.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I was tired, I was a little scared, I was hurt, and I was pissed. I came to Ponyville for… I don't really know why I came to Ponyville, but it certainly wasn't to have five of the Elements of Harmony attack me.

I ran through the field outside the little town as I was being chased by Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was flying overhead and waiting for her next opportunity to dive bomb me. Fluttershy, in her defense, didn't really seem to want to hurt me, but was there just in case I went back for the town. Rarity had tried to use her telekinesis on me, but for some reason, magic only ever affected me if it were cast by somepony extremely powerful. She had resorted to throwing things with her magic. Applejack had pelted me with a few apples already but was now trying to lasso me. Pinkie had used her party canon once already and made me wish I had fur more than ever, thanks to high velocity confetti and thousands of paper cuts.

"Get the buck outa out town, you damn monster!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she dove at me with one of her back hooves extended for a near sonic speed kick.

Luckily, my vertical, two-legged stance allowed me a great deal of maneuverability. As she dove in, I spun around, dropped one leg back for a pivot point, grabbed her lead hoof and used her own momentum to spin her around and fling her back up into the air. She tumbled, but would be able to recover before hitting the ground. "I already told you, I'm not a monster!"

"That's wut all munsters say!" Applejack was furious that I had attacked her friend, despite the fact that she was the one who attacked me. She charged at me as fast as she could. Luckily for me, she didn't expect me to side step and push her off balance as she ran by. She wouldn't be hurt, but it would take her some time to recover. I would have to thank my cousin for all the special training the next time I saw him.

Of course, I could hurt these mares, but I really didn't want to. For one thing, it wouldn't help my image as a monster any. Another reason is that these five ponies made up almost all of the Elements of Harmony and I didn't want my home to be without its greatest defense. Most importantly, they were friends of my cousin. Besides, I only wanted to escape now, I gained nothing by hurting them at this point.

Another volley of rocks were being thrown at me by Rarity. "You brute! How dare you hurt them!"

I caught two of the rocks, one in each hand, and dodged the others. "I didn't hurt anypony and I never wanted to!" I threw the rocks I caught straight down to the ground.

Pinkie Pie, who I'd always heard was random beyond belief, suddenly appeared on my back. "HERE, I BROUGHT YOU THIS!" I'd also heard she was loud, but damn. She had dropped a gift box into my hands, but unless it was a clock, it sounded like I didn't want it. I threw the 'present' in a random direction, unfortunately, that direction led to Fluttershy.

Hearing Pinkie gasp was enough to tell me I did a bad thing. The box didn't hit her, thankfully, but I didn't want to take a chance that it was harmless. I ran as fast as my tired legs would let me to get to her. For once today, luck was on my side. Right as I reached the box, I could hear its ticking was a great deal faster than it was when Pinkie dropped it on me. I threw it straight up in the air and dropped to cover Fluttershy's body.

Turns out, my instincts were right. No sooner did I manage to cover her, then the box exploded. It showered candy down on me. Normally, this would serve to be only a minor annoyance, but with explosives propelling them… I could feel the blood starting to flow. Perfect.

I stood from over Fluttershy and could already tell I had no chance of winning any fight now. I could only watch Rainbow Dash come back for another attempt. There was no way I was going to be able to deflect or redirect her now. Adrenaline was keeping me up, but I was already tired before I was pelted. I could only imagine how much damage I would have taken if I hadn't thrown the bomb away.

Dash was living up to her name and flying straight for me at speeds impossible for any other pegasus I knew. I tried to dodge, but I only managed to fall to the ground, catching a glancing blow as I did.

The momentum from the Dash's blow caused me to roll on the ground… right into Applejack. She yelled something at me, but I couldn't tell what it was thanks to the pain and disorientation. I could, however, feel the kick. Luckily, or unluckily depending on your view, I didn't feel anything after that. What happened after had to be told to me by my cousin, Twilight Sparkle.

She teleported into the field where she had been told her friends had chased a monster out of town. She looked around to get her bearings. The first pony she spotted was Fluttershy, still curled up in fear. Then she saw the others standing over my unconscious and bleeding body.

"Do ya think its… dead?" Applejack asked.

"I… don't know. Maybe," Rainbow Dash answered.

"No. Oh no, oh no, oh no." Twilight galloped over to me. She shouldered past the others. She looked over me, the already obvious horseshoe shaped welts, the cuts on my face and the blood on my shirt. Twilight lifted my head to try and look into my eyes, but one was swollen shut and the other was simply closed. "No, no, no, no, no. Please, wake up." She gently shook my chest. "No, this is so bad. You guys need to get out of here, now."

"What are you talking about, Twi?" Rainbow asked, "it's just some mons-"

"Don't. Say. That. Word." Her eyes gleamed with anger. "Go, right now. If she finds out what you did… oh, this is so bad."

The five mares looked at each other in confusion. Rarity spoke up first, "if who finds out, Darling?"

Before Twilight could answer, the skies turned black. Not figuratively black either, genuinely black. Storm clouds raced in out nowhere and spiraled above them and roared with deafening thunder.

"It's too late. She's here." Twilight looked despairingly up at the brilliant burst of light. The others followed her view and saw the most furious alicorn they have ever seen.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The Royal Canterlot Voice was not something anypony was used to hearing, and now it was the last thing anypony wanted to hear. When Celestia touched down, the ground trembled beneath her hooves. She trotted over to me as all but Twilight stepped back to give her room. When she saw what had been done, her eyes shone white and tears formed but were evaporated instantly.

"Princess, I don't understand," Rarity started.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?!"

"W-we chased him outa town," Rainbow began to explain. "We thought he was a mon-"

If it weren't for Twilight being so quick to raise her shield, they may have had to bury Rainbow Dash in the trench that she undoubtedly would have dug with her own body. Celestia had just tried to strike her.

"MY SON! IS NOT! A MONSTER!" Celestia glared with still glowing eyes, daring anypony to say anything else. A moment later, she teleported both of us back to the infirmary in Canterlot.

Now I know some of you may be confused. How could I be Celestia's son if I am clearly not a pony? Well, that is short answer and a long story. First, I will tell who and what I am. My name is Chris Sol and I am a human from Earth. What is a far more interesting question, is the how.

For the answer, I will have to go back to Earth, where I was born. Now, I'm not gonna bore you with things you already know. Obviously, I was born and had a mother and even a father. We all have seen pictures of the Hall of Honor, the throne room, the ball room and even the Royal Dining Hall in the castle. Any foal in school or pony capable of reading a newspaper has learned about the Elements of Harmony and who wield them. I would even go so far as to assume that there have been photos of their homes floating around. Therefore, I will not waste your time describing what those ponies and places look like.

I don't have a lot of memories about my time on Earth. After all, I _was_ only six when I was taken from my family and that was fourteen years before the events of today. I _do_remember that I was a happy child. I loved my parents and they me. We weren't rich by any stretch, but they never let me want or go hungry. Instead, they taught me to enjoy the free things that life had to offer and, most importantly, humility. Most of my days were spent running in the park and playing soldier with sticks for swords or guns.

It was on one of these days in the park that it happened. I was running through the woods, which was nothing more than a few trees with some palmettos growing in between, but to a boy of six, it was a jungle. I was in the middle of fending of my home town from Nazis when a bright light surrounded me. The last thing I heard and saw of Earth, was my mother screaming my name and running to save me.

The next thing I knew, I was in a clearing filled with flowers and a creek, bordered by trees. I could hear birds singing and feel the breeze on my face. I was looking around trying to figure out just where I was and what happened to my mom.

"Mommy!?" I screamed over and over, tears pouring from my eyes.

A voice from behind me caught my attention, "hello there, little one." I spun around to face the speaker. To my surprise, it was a unicorn with huge wings. It was Celestia and behind her was a tiny, filly, Twilight Sparkle. They were both confused, as was I, but Twilight looked downright scared. For some reason, I wasn't.

"I-I c-can't find my-my mommy," I told her. My voice kept catching in my throat due to the crying.

Celestia cooed and lowered herself to the ground. She wrapped me up in her huge wings, which made me feel so very safe. "Calm down, young one, we will help you find her. Guards!" Out of nowhere, ten white pegasi came to her side. Their golden armor and large frames made me uneasy. I clung tighter to Celestia's chest and she in turn tightened her wings' grip on me. "Search the woods. Look everywhere for this child's mother. You must find her."

Those guards looked for hours, but found nothing, not even a footprint. It had later been determined that I had been brought here by accident. Twilight was being taught magic by Celestia and her spell got super charged somehow and took me from Earth's realm to Equestria's.

For months, Twilight avoided me. She wasn't afraid of me, she was just afraid I would hate her. I never did. I blamed her for a time, but it was brief and didn't last long enough for hate to form.

I did cry myself to sleep for the first year, though. And every night, Celestia would come to comfort me. In fact, after the first month, I simply started to sleep in her bed with her, her wings being used as the best security blanket ever. At first, she had tried a nanny, but I wouldn't calm down with anypony but her. Even Twilight Velvet couldn't help me sleep. She did help Celestia a lot through the years, which is one more reason why I never hated her daughter and even considered her and her family as my own family. That's why I called Twilight my cousin.

What I didn't realize for years, was the grief I had caused Celestia. She had decided it was best to keep my existence a secret, except for a few doctors, guards and maids. Most ponies who met me, feared me. It had something to do with the fact that humans are predators. Strange how creatures don't want to spend too much time around creatures that could eat them.

Because of my secreted existence, rumors had started to spread that Celestia was sneaking lovers into her room at night. After all, no one was allowed into her chambers at night and strange noises could be heard coming from inside.

With us spending so much time together and her doing so much to protect me, it was only natural that after some time, I would call her 'Mom'. The second the word slipped from my mouth, tears of joy formed in her eyes and she hugged me tighter than she ever had before. She officially adopted me within the hour. I learned later that she had always wanted a child of her own, but with her official duties, she never had the chance. Worse yet, she never would again.

Are alicorns powerful? Yes. Are they immortal? Yes. Are they gods? No, not at all. Alicorns, like all living creatures, have a limited time in which they can breed, and Celestia's had passed centuries ago. She was doomed to never experience the joys of raising a foal like other members of her family had. Those royals that had given up either their wings or the magic to become mortals, leaving only herself, her sister and eventually her niece Cadence as the only alicorns left and therefore shouldered with an unfair amount of responsibility. Then, suddenly, here was this child from out of the blue in need of protection, shelter and love. This was her chance, so she took it.

Thus, Prince Christopher Sol of Equestria I became.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The first few months were particularly hard on Celestia and myself. For one thing, I wouldn't stop crying about missing my mother and father. What's even worse, I couldn't remember their names. She tried to make me happy, toys, treats, love and affection. During those times, I was okay because I had distractions, but there's only so much cake can do (no matter what a certain pink earth pony says). That's actually one of the main reasons she loves cake so much now, she couldn't just let it go to waste after all.

Thankfully, there was Twilight and her family. They were all very friendly to me and treated me as family. Shining Armor was just as supportive and protective of me as he was with his own sister. Nightlight and Twilight Velvet claimed me as their adoptive nephew. Twilight Sparkle seemed to try too hard for a while. She always blamed herself for my being trapped here. In fact, that's why she gets so obsessive over minor details, she wanted to make absolutely sure it never happened again.

At first, I was kept hidden for my own good. I still got nervous at the guards in their heavy armor. It was hard enough getting used to there being no humans here without being frightened by every other pony. It was soon learned that I startled quite a few of them as well. They were used to things like griffons and minotaur, but they had centuries for that. In the distant past, both creatures had passively hunted ponies, if one happened upon an easy meal, they took it. Nowadays, barely anypony remembered that, but now there was a new predator, me.

Two months after I arrived, I started to get sick. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. Heck, it took three unicorns just to perform a magic scan on me, and if Celestia hadn't been there, I would've been freaking out about it.

"…so as you can see, Princess, Chris' bone structure is quite different from our own. His muscles show that he will never be as strong or as fast as a pony, though he may grow to be taller than even yourself. He will also never be able to reproduce with a pony." The doctor then indicated for Celestia to come closer so he could whisper to her, "his digestive tract is shorter than ours. We believe he may be a carnivore or, preferably, an omnivore."

"Is this the reason he has been sick as of late?" Celestia called me over and nuzzled me as I happily hugged her tight.

"Yes. Princess, I'm afraid to say it, but I believe he will have to consume flesh at some time in the near future." The doctor looked from her to me with a concerned expression, "if he doesn't, he will become malnourished and… possibly worse."

Celestia nodded in understanding. "I understand, doctor, thank you. And please," she turned and started to usher me out of the infirmary, "keep this information between us. My little ponies are having enough of a hard time accepting him as it is."

That was the moment I started seeing her as more than just a caregiver. She truly cared about me and wanted me to be happy. That was also the moment that she decided she would be willing to sacrifice her good name for my well-being. She contacted the only creature she knew she could trust in this matter.

The next afternoon, I met someone who would become a good friend of mine. King Gurfon of the Griffon Empire. Celestia contacted him and requested a private meeting of grave importance.

When he arrived, King Gurfon was uneasy. Celestia met with leaders of state all the time, but this was of 'grave importance'. He had no idea what that could mean, and that's what worried him.

"Princess Celestia, I came as soon as I received your message," Gurfon announced as he entered the throne room. "How can I be of service?"

"King Gurfon, I apologize for pulling you away from you kingdom but I did not know who else to turn to." She stood from her throne and started to walk toward a doorway on the side of the large room. "Please, follow me, and leave your guard here."

Gurfon did as she asked, but now he was more confused than ever. What could be so bad that she doesn't want my guards to know? Is Equestria in danger? Is the Griffon Empire at risk? Could this possibly be a more… private… meeting? A part of him hoped for the latter, she was a stunning pony that anyone would find attractive.

"Celestia, what is this all about?" Gurfon asked as they went deeper into the castle's private area. It is very uncommon for even dignitaries to come into this part of the castle, thus adding to his confusion and unease.

Celestia stopped just outside her personal chambers, "Inside this room is something… very precious. It is this that I need your help with." She then opened the door and stepped inside.

When I saw her come in, I wanted to run over to her. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling too hot. Besides, she told me not to. I was supposed to wait patiently until she said otherwise. Celestia was concerned I might startle Gurfon and his instincts would make him hurt me. When I saw Gurfon enter, I didn't need instructions to stay still.

Gurfon looked down at me with a suppressed look of shock. He looked down at me, "Celestia, what is this... thing?"

It always upset Celestia to hear somepony refer to me as a thing, monster, creature, and especially abomination (the only pony who called me that found himself suddenly promoted to ambassador to the dragon kingdom, he quit after one day). She didn't show the slightest hint of anger, even though I knew otherwise.

"This is Chris. He is a human from a world called Earth. He was brought here by a spell gone awry. I have taken it upon myself to care for him." She stated all of this as though it were simple fact and nothing more. She had come over to me and laid down next to me. I immediately latched onto her neck and chuckled as she nuzzled me.

"Very well," Gurfon approached and slowly lowered himself to the floor as well. "He certainly seems harmless and he definitely likes you." She smiled as he said that. He extended an eagle's talon toward me, palm up, claws as flat as possible, and waited for me to react.

I looked at Celestia, her smile told me simply that nothing would ever hurt me while she was there. My confidence rose quickly as I stepped closer and placed my hand in Gurfon's paw. "Nice to meet you sir."

Gurfon smiled, "it's nice to meet you too, youngling. Do you know what I am?" I shook my head. "I am a griffon. Half lion, half eagle. I am also the king of my empire. What are you?"

"I'm a human. Uh, I think I'm related to chimps, but I'm not sure. I'm not a king or anything though." This made him chuckle.

"You seem like a good young lad. I hope we can be friends in the future."

"Thank you, sir. I would like that." I shook his hand heartily before withdrawing my own. He then spread his wings and allowed me to get a closer inspection of his form. "Wow…!"

Gurfon chuckled again before turning back to Celestia who was grinning happily. "Forgive me, but I fail to see what the issue is. He is friendly, well-mannered and seems to have a healthy level of curiosity." As he said the last bit, he swatted me gently with a wing and chuckled and I laughed.

"While I would agree, there are still concerns." Celestia sighed deeply. "One of those concerns is the reason I contacted you." Her smile was gone from her face completely. "Chris needs… to eat… meat." As Celestia said the last word, she locked eyes with Gurfon with a look of pleading.

"Ah, I see. So, since your country is all herbivores, you are unable to provide the protein his body requires." Gurfon wrapped his wing around me and pulled me in close as he rubbed my head. I found the whole thing very entertaining. "I believe I can help with that. I will happily provide what is needed for his health. I can even have it cooked ahead of time so your chefs don't have to deal with it, I understand how distressing such a thing would be for them. I even have some handy right now if you would like." Celestia smiled in relief as she nodded. "Very well, it shall be done."

"Thank you very much. Now, I must ask what the price of such generosity would be."

"Simple, I only ask that I am allowed to visit this youngling during these deliveries." Celestia arched an eyebrow in mild suspicion, "what, I like him. I just want to spend time with him."

"Provided there is nothing untoward going on, then I will happily agree to this."

"Very good. So, Chris, would you like to meet some more griffons?"

Gurfon's question got me excited. I had seen all kinds of ponies, but this was a whole new creature, and they were cool. I looked to Celestia for permission. I could tell by her lowered ears just what the answer would be. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that. Chris' unusual appearance tends to put ponies on edge."

"Are you saying that griffons scare easily?"

"No, of course not, but if a griffon gets startled, they can easily kill somepony like Chris." Celestia's face was now showing only loving concern.

Gurfon looked from her down to me and my very soft, easily torn open skin, my fingers that were totally devoid of talons, and my absolute lack of fangs. "I see your point. But you can't keep him locked away forever. It simply isn't healthy for him."

"I know, but for now, it is for his own good. When he is a little older, I will make sure he is properly trained in self-defense so that I will not have to worry so much. I believe he will one day be accepted, but sadly, that day is not this day."

After their private meeting was ended, Gurfon had he guards bring him a hearty meal. We sat in the private dining hall as we ate. Poor Celestia looked like she was going to be ill. I did what I could to keep her from having to see, as did Gurfon, but there's only so much you can do.

After that, I was back to normal. Every month, Gurfon returned with a delivery of meat. He would meet with Celestia and I in her private chambers without his guards. Celestia's own guards knew the truth, but that didn't stop rumors from flying.

The most common rumor was that Gurfon was visiting each month for a more 'personal' reasons. It didn't help that I slept in her chambers as well, I was still crying myself to sleep at night, and she said she liked how warm my body was next to her. Celestia never complained, not once, nor did she ever try to correct anypony. Instead, she took solace that I was healthy and happy. She also began to eat more cake. At least that rumor is true. Though the reason for it was that cake was her stress management. Some ponies paint, Celestia eats cake.

For my education, I had a private tutor. Every morning, I would be taught about history, math and science, same as everypony else. After lunch, Celestia would teach Twilight, and I would sit in. I couldn't do magic, but I did enjoy spending time with the two of them. Even though Twilight seemed to avoid contact with me for the first few months.

She was never rude about it. If I spoke to Twilight, she would respond politely and honestly, but she never started the exchange. At least, for the first four months. After that, I couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Twilight, do you… do you hate me?"

"What? No, of course not."

"Then, why are you always avoiding me?"

"Perhaps, it is time. You should tell Chris the truth, Twilight." Celestia told her in her most motherly of tones.

"What do you mean? Tell me what?" Now I was getting worried.

Twilight was crying. I had learned enough about pony body language to tell she was scared, borderline terrified. She had to force herself to make eye contact. "It's all my fault."

"What's your fault, Twi?" I asked. Now I was scared.

"It was my spell that brought you here. I'm the reason you were taken from your parents and your home. It's all my fault!" I was frozen. This new information was too much to process. "I know you must hate me now, but please say something."

Twilight had placed her front hooves on my chest and was begging. Her eyes pleading for some acknowledgement. I couldn't say anything, my mind had nearly gone blank. I wanted to scream and yell. I wanted to hit something or someone. I wanted to make something else suffer, but I didn't. I remembered my father telling me that acting out in anger would only hurt the ones I loved.

Instead, I stepped back from Twilight, causing her to fall to all fours. I then turned around and ran. I was crying as I ran. I ignored Celestia's calls for me to stop. I simply crawled under the guards when they tried to block my path. I ran. I ran to one of my favorite places in the whole palace, the Hall of Legends.

I sat, hidden by a plinth, with my elbows on my knees, in front of the window displaying the two sisters. For some reason, looking at it always brought me comfort. I was told before who the two ponies were and I believed it, but to me, it was just a beautiful window.

After a while, I felt and heard somepony sit on the other side of that plinth. They didn't say anything at first, but I knew they were there. As soon as I could smell cake frosting, I knew exactly who it was.

"W-why didn't you tell me?"

Celestia let out a long, deep sigh. "I probably should have, but… I guess I'm not as all-knowing as ponies want to believe." She looked up at the window we were sitting in front of, "if I were, you would have known my sister, Luna."

I looked ever just in time to see a single tear fall from her eye. I crawled over and threw my arms around her. I cried into her fur as she wrapped her wings around me. "I'm sorry I ran away. Was it really an accident?"

"Yes, I was teaching Twilight a spell to teleport items short distances and, it went horribly wrong. Twilight's talent is magic and she has the capacity to be extremely powerful. Unfortunately, that means that, if she isn't careful, she also has the capacity for causing great misfortune.

"I think I understand *sniff*."

"Will you forgive Twilight? She is very upset and scared you will hate her forever." Celestia was now nuzzling me. It was an action the always calmed me down.

"I guess I can, but right now, I'm afraid I'll do something mean to her." I released my hug, "can I just wait here for now?"

"Yes, yes of course you can. I will go to her now, if you are okay here." I nodded, "alright then. If you need me, I will be in the gardens."

It was a full week before I talked to Twilight again. I told her I accepted her apology and she was overjoyed that I wasn't angry with her. From that day on, we had been great friends. Even more so when her brother started to come along for her magic lessons and he and I would play together in the gardens.

That was how I made my first real friends in this world.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N **There seems to be some confusion over the first chapter and the timeline. I Tarantinoed the first chapter. It hasn't come to that point in Chris' life yet.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Eight months in, I was still sharing Celestia's bed but I was crying less and less at night. As far as I know, it never kept Celestia up or otherwise messed with her sleep schedule. Human children tend to sleep ten hours or so a night. Sleeping from sunset to sunrise was perfect for me and, therefore, Celestia. In fact, to this day, I can't sleep past sunrise.

I was still going to private studies and spending afternoons in the gardens with Celestia and Twilight. I was also enjoying my monthly visits with Gurfon, who would sometimes bring me gifts along with the meats. He brought me a crossbow once, but Celestia thought, at the time, that ten years was a little young for such a dangerous weapon.

Celestia was, once again, teaching Twilight while I was politely staying out of their way. Neither wanted to shoo me away, nor did they want me to get involved. The last time I was involved in their lessons, I lost everything I had. It was still a fresh wound, but we were working on healing it.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait alone for too long. Shining Armor came into the gardens looking for us. He was about the same height as I was at this point, and pretty strong for his age. A build like his would normally mean he would be all-star hoofball team captain, but no. Instead, he spent his free time looking after Twilight and dreaming about being a Royal Guard some day.

"Shining! Hey, over here!" I called out, waving my arms like an idiot.

"Hey, Chris, Twily almost done?"

"No, they've still got an hour or so. You want to play 'til they're done?"

"Okay, but not hide 'n' seek. You always go up a tree and I can never find you."

"What's the point of being a monkey if I don't climb trees every now and then?"

We both laughed. It was, and still is, and inside joke for us. He would never call me a monkey or an ape to be mean. He rarely even called me that as a joke, but he still did sometimes. However, like Celestia, if anypony else tried calling me that, they were going to have a very bad day very quickly.

"What's the point, indeed." The voice was like claws on a chalk board. Not that it was a particularly harsh or grating voice, it did however belong to the most annoying pony in Canterlot. "What's the point of even keeping a monkey like you around anyway?"

"Blueblood, stop it." Shining stepped in front of me.

"Or what? You'll hit me? You'd strike a royal?" Shining knew he was right. Nopony got away with striking a member of the royal family. "Now, why don't you and your little," he actually looked like he was going to vomit, "monster lea~eaeahh~…"

"Very impressive, Twilight. Your levitation has improved greatly." Celestia smiled down at the struggling filly, "but you better let me have him before he becomes too much for you." The pale violet aura that surrounded Blueblood faded and was fluidly replaced with a near-blinding golden aura. He was then brought very, uncomfortably close to her face.

"Oh, hello, Auntie. I-I-I didn't see you there." I would be lying if I said I didn't find a lot of joy in this. I have always disliked my cousin.

"I have already guessed that. If you had, then I'm sure you wouldn't have acted in such a dishonorable way. A crown is heavy because it is weighed down with the burden of the ponies who rely on you."

"Yes, Auntie, I understand." No he didn't, he never did. He only said that so that she would stop lecturing him.

"Good," she released him from her magical grip… three feet high, "no stop bothering my guests." Watching him run off with his tail between his legs always made me feel better. She approached myself and Shining with Twilight by her side. "Thank you, Shining Armor, for looking after Chris. I greatly appreciate it."

"It is truly a pleasure, Your Highness. I consider Chris a friend and I don't like to see my friends hurt."

'Friend', I didn't have many and it felt good to know I had ones as good as Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle. I knew they would always be there for me. I may not have my blood family anymore, but I had them, and I was grateful for them.

"Still, thank you. Chris, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine."

I didn't even realize I had said it, but Celestia did. Her magenta eyes grew wide to the point that I was afraid they would fall out of the socket. "Di-did you just…"

"Princess, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"You just… you said 'Mom'."

"Did I, I'm sorry. It mus-" I was cut off by a rib crushing hug. Celestia had scooped me up and was doing her best to squeeze me in half.

"Don't be sorry." She finally released me so I could breathe. She set me down, and I did my best to re-inflate my lungs. "Oh, Chris, if you wish for me to become your adoptive mother, that would make me so very happy. Will you allow me to become your new mother?"

It was a shock, that's for sure, but it wasn't an unpleasant one. "I… I think… yes, I would like that, very much."

Twenty minutes later, she had tracked down the Royal Record-keeper. Five minutes after that, the adoption papers had been drawn up. Ten seconds after that, I was officially a prince and next in line for the thrown. That, of course, was meaningless, as she would outlive me by more than a few millennia.

A party was thrown, a small one obviously. There was a feast with a covered dish just for me, though I really wanted to eat that rabbit right in front of Blueblood just to see his face. Twilight's family was there, the other guests were palace employees. I understood why, I just wish I could have had more friends there. Of course, I would have needed more friends for that to happen. I also wish there could have been more cake left over for later, but with Celes… Mom around, there was no chance of that happening.

Eight years after I came to Equestria, seven years four months after becoming prince, life was pretty good. I was now fourteen years old and was the almost twice height as an average mare. I had moved into my own chambers seven years prior, complete with balcony and personal water closet. Celestia had even assigned me my own maid, Feather Duster, who wasn't very pleased about being assigned to 'the monster'. Granted, the room was only ten yards down the hall from Celestia's, but it was my own room.

Life had been pretty good to me thus far. Twilight came every day to study in the gardens and Shining Armor would play with me. Running around with him kept me in good health. Even though he was a few years older than me, he still made time for me, and for that, I will always be grateful. But what really made a difference, was when he started to train for the guard.

Gurfon had given me a pair of wooden practice swords and a shield, I always had one sword close at hand if not on me at all times. Shining and I would dual almost every day and both got very good with them. Celestia had arranged for a trainer in the Guard come over and train both us in defensive tactics. I knew Shining would make it far in the Royal Guard, maybe even all the way up to captain one day. 'Til then, I would watch out for my friend and, though I wouldn't directly influence his career, I would support him in it.

Whenever there was free time, Celestia would take me on vacations. Sadly, ponies were still nervous around me, so they weren't real vacations. She would show me the countryside at night by allowing me to ride on her back while she flew over. Sometimes, I would even get to visit Gurfon, who had claimed himself my uncle, in the griffon empire. Other times, rarely, I would be taken to the dragon kingdom. I liked the dragons, they respected Celestia and I, and we were treated well. Plus, they weren't afraid of me.

Today was the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. The whole of Canterlot was celebrating. There were decorations and bands and parades and fanfare of all kinds. Celestia raised the sun and the ponies cheered and danced and feasted. All this, and none knew what she went through every single year.

"Mom, c'mon, you do this to yourself every year. I wish you would just stop. I hate seeing you like this."

Celestia had held out all day, and now it was late afternoon. She had performed all the rituals and customs of the festival. Now, she was locked away in her chambers and I was the only living soul allowed to enter for the next ten hours. She was crying into her pillows while I did what I could to comfort her. Rubbing her back, massaging her wigs, even cake never did anything to bring her around. I tried anyway, even as a kid, I would just hug her for hours.

"I do this because I must." She raised her head and looked at me with bloodshot eyes and fur matted with tears. "I go through with this festival every year so that my little ponies will know that there is still nothing to fear from Nightmare Moon."

"I understand that, but I still don't get why it bothers you so much."

"No, nopony does, it if a little known fact and I have tried to keep it that way for many centuries. However, I do not wish to lie to family." She gave me a kiss on my cheek. "You see, Nightmare Moon was a vengeful spirit that possessed my sister, your aunt, Luna."

"So when banished Nightmare Moon, you also banished your sister." Celestia nodded and buried her head I my chest, still mindful of her horn. I stroked her mane as she soaked my tunic with tears.

For the first time since I came to Equestria, I held _her_ while she cried herself to sleep.

The next month, I was still a little upset. Seeing somepony as strong as Celestia humbled like that weighed heavily on me. That night, I had vowed to never to do anything to soil her good name and conduct myself honorably. Sadly, not everypony in the family felt the same way.

I was walking through the private quarters of the palace, the only place I was allowed to roam freely aside from the gardens. I was in a slightly better mood today because Gurfon would be visiting today. There were still rumors floating around that his monthly visits were for more than political reasons. Rumors she refused to dispute publicly so as to protect me. That didn't stop me from clocking anypony I heard spreading those rumors. The clang the guards helmets made when rung with me wooden sword could be heard down the halls from time to time. Celestia once told me, in confidence, that she liked that sound.

On my stroll, I was nearly run down by a maid galloping through the halls. I could hear her crying before I could see her. I managed to stop her mad charge. I recognized her, but didn't know her personally, she worked in the private quarters. She also knew me and was unafraid.

"Whoa there, calm down." I kneeled down so I was level with her. Her breathing was sporadic and she was reluctant to make eye contact. "What's wrong? If you tell me, maybe I can help."

She shook her head, "I do not wish to speak ill of-of…" She was reluctant to tell me more. I could respect that, but I also hated seeing mares cry.

"Listen, Miss… what's your name?"

"*Sniff* Dust Bunny."

"Dust Bunny, you know who I am, right?" She nodded. "Then you know I won't do anything to hurt you, right?" She repeated herself. "You have my word, as Prince of Equestria, that no matter what you tell me, about whomever it may be, that no harm or punishment will be brought against you." She looked up into my eyes and seemed to be able to tell I was be honest. I could see now that she was quite attractive (what? I grew up around ponies, it only makes since I would be attracted to the pretty ones).

"I-it w-was Blueblood. He said th-that if I-I didn't la-la-lay with him tonight, he w-w-would have me fired and evicted." She was begging me on her knees, "please, please don't let him do it. My husband is out of work and we have nowhere to go. Please help me."

I lifted her back to her hooves, "were you assigned to him?" she nodded. "Not anymore. Dust Bunny, you will be assigned to me, receive a raise and an extra week's paid vacation every year. Do you accept?" She couldn't have nodded faster if she tried. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I've got to teach somepony what nobility means."

I stomped down the halls, straight to Blueblood's chambers. Fortuitously, he just so happened to catch Blueblood coming out as I approached.

"BLUEBLOOD!"

"What do you want, Monk-" He didn't get to finish his insult. A fist to the snout kind of stops words. He recovered from the blow and his stumble with a look of shock more than pain. "Y-y-you dare! Guards! Seize this vile creature!"

They started to move but froze when I raised a single hand. "None of you will interfere. Remember whose mother you work for." They all resumed their posts, much to the surprise of Blueblood. He was even more surprised to see a smirk on their faces. "Good, now why don't you two go get a sandwich?" They left, smirks still present. "As for you, we're gonna have a little chat about how to treat ponies."

Once they were gone, Blueblood knew he was in trouble. Sure he was big, but he never bothered to train like I had. "You keep away from me!"

Blueblood fired a blast of magic straight into my chest, where it did nothing but burn the cloth on top of it. "You ruined my tunic." I grabbed Blueblood's horn and dragged him close, "Mother made me this tunic." Blueblood slammed into the wall where I threw him.

"Chris!" Gurfon's unmistakable voice called out to them. "Just what are you doing to this colt?"

I bowed before the griffon. "King Gurfon, it is an honor sir."

Blueblood saw an opportunity, and he charged at me. "Rise, Chris," I did so just in time for Blueblood to gallop right past me and into a plinth, knocking the vase smashing into his own skull. "You know better than to bow to me, or to address me as such. Now, who am I and how do you greet me?"

I hugged the king tightly, and rolled my eyes "Uncle Gurfon," the name was said with some sarcasm.

"Good lad. Now just what is this all about?"

"Just teaching a lesson in nobility and modesty."

"Ah, he did something untoward did he?"

"Tried to coerce his maid into a… compromising situation."

Gurfon looked down at Blueblood as he stood from the broken plinth and smashed vase. "I see. A lesson well earned. Well, I'm off to see your mother, don't let me detain you."

"Alright, I'll see you later then." I turned back to Blueblood, who had recovered, and readied myself for more teaching.

Blueblood squared off, trying his best to conjure centuries of royal fighting instinct that he didn't have. I lowered my stance and readied for his best attempt. Amateurs do sometimes get lucky. Blueblood charged at me, I simply side stepped and tripped him. He slid across the polished marble and came to rest a little ways away. Unfortunately, the first thing that filled his view when he opened his eyes was two golden horseshoes.

"What is going on here?!" Celestia yelled.

I said nothing, he may have deserved a beating, but I wasn't going to make things harder on him or me. Blueblood, on the otherhoof, was more than happy to whine to Celestia.

"Oh, Auntie, help me. Chris just came up and attacked me out of nowhere and for no reason."

"Is this true? Did you attack your cousin?"

I glared at the cry-filly, "yes. I attacked him."

"Go to your chambers. I will speak to you about this shortly."

I didn't say anything. I just walked off to my room. I wasn't mad at Celestia, she was doing her best with the limited information she had. I also wasn't ashamed, I did the right thing.

Suddenly, the door to my room slammed open and was quickly slammed shut. I looked up at the furious face of my mother. She slowly walked up to me, I merely stood and looked into her eyes. Gradually, her scowl turned into a loving smile.

She scooped me up and hugged me tighter than she had in a long time. "How did I raise such a good son?" I answered her question with a confused silence. "Gurfon told me what happened. You were defending a mare's virtue and I am so proud of you."

After the squeezing, I was told that Blueblood had not only been stripped of his allowance for three months, but would be without a servant for a year. At the end of that year, he would have a butler instead of a maid, and said butler would not do any cleaning for him.

And so, I had finally won a long standing rivalry with my cousin.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The morning after my little disagreement with my cousin, I was awoken by my new maid, Dust Bunny. She had made sure she got to her new post early and had her uniform freshly cleaned and pressed. Not easy to do with a frilly dress, but she did it. Just a testament to her dedication, I guess.

"Good morning, your Majesty."

"Good morning, Miss Bunny, and please, except in formal settings, call me Chris."

"If that is your wish, you- Chris, then it shall be done. If you wish, you may simply refer to me as Bunny." She bowed, I was about to stop that too, but decided to stick with baby steps.

I climbed out of bed and after my morning duties, ie. brushing teeth, donned my freshly cleaned tunic, via Bunny. It was soft and smelled very fresh as well as looking exceptionally clean. In fact, everything looked exceptionally clean now that I looked around.

"Did… did you clean all of this while I was still sleeping?" She nodded. "That's fantastic, Feather Duster never got my room looking like this, especially without waking me up and in one morning." I reached out, she shied away at first, but, somewhat reluctantly, allowed me to place my hand on her. I scratched behind her ear, everypony's weak spot for my fingers. "Thank you, Bunny."

"Oh, it's the least I could do. You saved my job, my home and you stood up for me. I told my husband what happened and he wishes to thank you in person."

"I would like that, but you know he can't. Nopony outside the palace is supposed to know of my existence."

Bunny hung her head a little. "I know, and I hate that. You are not a monster and I will personally buck anypony that says otherwise." She really was upset by it.

"Thank you, Bunny, I appreciate that, very much." I scratched behind her ears again. This time, she leaned into it a little, which made me smile. "Now c'mon, Mom worries if I'm late for breakfast."

We walked to the royal dining hall together, her a few steps behind me. I've always hated that. I waved her forward with a few flicks of my wrist. She quickened her pace and trotted next me.

"So, Bunny, tell me, what's your husband's name and just what does he do?"

"His name is Iron Hammer, and right now, he keeps house. Before that, he was a blacksmith, and a darn good one too, but the smith he worked for closed when the owner retired. That was months ago now and we've been having trouble making ends meet since. If you hadn't come to my rescue yesterday, we would have lost everything."

"Hey, what kind of prince would I be if I left a damsel in distress stay in distress?" We had reached the dining hall and went inside. Celestia was already seated at her favorite spot. I walked over and kissed her cheek, "Mornin', Mother, how did you sleep?"

"Very well, thanks to you." I raised an eyebrow in questioning. "You made me so very proud yesterday, even though you had to attack your cousin to do it."

"Speaking of which, why is he still living in the castle after what he did?" Bunny tried very hard not to let her twitching ears give her away.

"I am hoping that he is not beyond redemption. Maybe, with a little guidance, he can one day make me as proud as you do every day. And besides, if he slips again, I know who to turn to to get him back on track."

There was a small giggle from behind me. "Yes, well let's just hope I don't have to."

At that moment, the door to the hall slammed open and in walked the stallion in question. His mane and tail were styled, but not as well as they usually were. Seeing as one of his eyes was swollen shut, that wasn't surprising. He limped, as proudly as he could, to the table and took his seat, _way_ down at the other end.

"Good morning, cousin. How did you sleep?" I asked with a smirk that I made no attempt to conceal. I heard him mumble something, but couldn't make it out. Though I could make out two syllables, 'mon' and 'key'. Now he was asking for it. "Come, _cousin_," I made sure to enunciate the word, good and loud so he could hear it, "why don't you dine with us down here?"

He glared at me, but before he could say something, a large eagle's talon landed on his shoulder. "Yes, don't be bashful, young stallion." Gurfon walked by him with a big grin on his beak. "Chris, I have brought something special for you this morning," he held up a covered dish, but I could already smell it. He lifted the cover and there was two plates under it with cooked meat, "fatback."

I wiped the drool from my mouth while Celestia did her best to hide her disgust. "You sir, are the best uncle ever." He laughed heartily at that. After he placed a dish in front of me, I turned to Celestia, "Mom, are there any openings in the blacksmith shop?"

Bunny looked between myself and Celestia with wide eyed anticipation, who caught the motion out of the corner of her eye. "I believe there may be one left, do you have any suggestions?"

"I've heard of a stallion who is supposed to be quite skilled. His name is Iron Hammer."

"Very well, if you know how to get ahold of him, I will see to it he is given an opportunity."

"I will see to it that it is done. Miss Dust Bunny, do you know where to reach Iron Hammer?"

At that moment, Bunny broke a lot of protocols and rushed to hug me. She then whispered in my ear, "thank you so much."

Later that day, I was sitting in the gardens watching Celestia and Twilight with their magic. I was under a tree with Spike curled up in my lap. He seemed to like how much heat I gave off as much as all the ponies who had the opportunity to enjoy it, namely Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. Luckily, Mother kept my salty sweat a secret from everypony. Having Twilight want my body heat is sometimes awkward enough without her wanting my sweat too.

"Chris, hey. Is Twilight ready yet?"

"Hey, Shining. No, not yet," I told him as he walked up and patted Spike's head.

"Well, you up for some practice 'til she is?"

I set Spike down on a curled up blanket and pulled out the wooden swords and my shield, "you know it."

We sparred for over an hour. Both of us gaining and losing ground. We attacked and parried. We even resorted to hand-to-hoof combat. Even though I was only fourteen and Shining was eighteen, he had trained me well enough that he himself was having trouble getting the upper hoof.

Finally, we had to stop or risk being completely drained of energy. We took our seats under the tree I had been resting under before our match. Spike was still sleeping… and snoring. Bunny came up gave us both a glass of water and a towel. We both thanked her.

"Cousin!" the cheerful, singsong voice of my _good_ cousin came from across the gardens.

"Cadence!" I stood up and rushed to my favorite relative, outside of my mother and honorary family. She was still wearing her mane and tail tied back in, of all things, a ponytail. I always liked her hair like that. I gave her a hug. "Oh, and you brought Philomena," Celestia's pet phoenix, "looking beautiful as always."

"Who, me or the bird?"

"The bird, duh." We both laughed and Philomena cawed and fluttered up to perch on my shoulder.

"H-hello, Cadence," Shining said as he approached. I still don't know why he tried to act cool and discreet around the Princess of Love. Surely, she could tell as well as I that he was carrying a flame for her. "How a-are you?"

"I doing very well, thank you. I'm glad to see you taking such good care of my cousin."

"Of course, he's a friend and a good colt. Besides, sparring with something other than a pony is good practice."

"Oh-ho-ho, so it's my ape-like features you're after is it?"

"You bet. How else am I going to be the best guard ever?"

"Heck, I bet if you keep training with me, you'll be able to hold off an invasion all by yourself someday," I teased.

"I'm sure he will, but for now, just make sure you look out for my little cousin." She rubbed my hair with her hoof.

"Little? I'm as tall as you are."

"Maybe, but I'm still a few years older than you. So you'll always be my little cousin."

I still don't think she knew just what that statement meant to me. Even this far along, I was still being shunned by a few of the ponies that did know I was here and hidden from the rest. I loved my family, most of it, and cherished my friends, but I wanted more. In the next few years, I decided I would just take it.

By the time I was seventeen, I was taller than Celestia by a few inches and I had started to get a little rebellious. Eleven years of being hidden away will do that.

Now, just because I was rebellious, didn't mean I was mean or vengeful, just stupid. I still loved and respected Celestia and tried to make sure I never shamed her or made her work to keep the populace calm. Meaning, I kept hidden and to myself.

I would sometimes sneak out while Celestia was in court and Twilight was in school. I'd climb across the rooftops and silently watch the ponies on the road below. If I got hungry, I would snag something when nopony was looking and leave the bits, with a little extra for the inconvenience.

Most times, I would be caught by a pegasus guard or found by Philomena. I would never fight or resist and would always get scolded. I would sneak out again anyway. I tried to excuse myself by saying I was just testing the guards, but that only worked a couple times.

One day, I pushed it a little too far. I fell through a skylight I was looking through. Luckily, I landed on a stockpile of fabric in the back of a shop. I knew I was in trouble though. For one thing, this was going to cost more bits than I had. Another thing was, I had been seen.

"I say, are you alright there?"

I looked up from my pile of cushion and into the face of a white unicorn stallion with white fur and blue hair. His mane tail and tiny mustache were styled so well, it would put Blueblood to shame. His tuxedo and monocle screamed money, but his mannerisms and speech patterns spoke of class. Class and wealth often walk hoof and hoof, but can exist without each other. For example, Dust Bunny has class but not money, while Blueblood… Blueblood is in a classless class all his own.

"I think so. How about you? You weren't hit by anything were you?"

"No, no I'm quite alright. Though," he looked from the damaged inventory to the open skylight, "I'm afraid I can't say the same for my store."

"I'm so sorry about that. I promise I'll pay you back."

"I'm far less concerned with that than I am your health, Mister…?"

I stood up and proffered a hand to him, "Chris Sol, sir," He shook my hand, "and you are?"

"My name is Fancy Pants. Now, I know it's terribly rude of me, but what manner of creature are you?"

"Oh, I take no offense, I'm a human. A relative of primates." I didn't really want to mention the whole 'other planet' thing just yet.

"I see, interesting."

"Y-you're not afraid?"

"Why, should I be?"

"No, I don't want to hurt anypony."

"Then I won't be."

The door opened and in walked another unicorn, a mare this time. She was tall and lean and gorgeous. Her fur was also white but had a slight tinge of purple. Her hair was two-tone pink and her eyes violet. I recognized her from some of the pictures in the guard's locker room, she was Fleur Dis Lee.

"Dear, is everything al-" Yep, there it was, the fear induced muscle lock. I hated it every time.

"Yes, of course, Fleur. Come in and meet a most interesting young colt. His name is Chris Sol. He is a human."

Eventually, she was able to move again and she approached us. "Did you say Chris?" I nodded, "I've heard that name. Do you know a maid in the royal palace named Dust Bunny?"

"Yes, I know her. Why do you ask?"

"She comes into shop every now and then. Every time she does, she speaks of a young colt named Chris who came to her rescue in her time of need and pulled her family from the brink of debt. If you are this Chris, then you are to be honored."

"Thank you, but I was just doing what was right. Any stallion would have done the same thing," I told her.

"Nonsense." Fancy Pants spoke up, "a courageous act should be commended and rewarded."

"Well, now that you mention it, I could use a lift home."

Fifteen minutes later, the carriage we were riding in pulled up to the main gate. Two minutes after that, we were in the throne room. The two ponies were now shaking at the sight of the fuming Solar Princess. I was merely avoiding her gaze.

"And just what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Your highness, we were…"

Celestia cut off Fancy Pants. "Not you," she then pointed at me with a gold plated hoof, "you. And don't say you're sorry if you're not."

"Alright then, I won't. I wanted to go outside these walls, so I did. Nopony saw me, well, until I fell through this stallion's skylight that is. He and his wife brought me back here."

Her eyes gave her away, she was worried about me. "Then they will be reimbursed for the damage you have caused and they will also have my thanks. You, on the other hoof, shall be grounded for two weeks."

"Aww, Mom… oops." I quickly realized what I had just said and clamped my hands over my mouth.

" 'Mom'? Princess, did this human just…?"

Again, Fancy Pants was cut off, and received the scowl of a lifetime. "Yes, this is my son, your prince. His existence has not been announced out of concern for how the public might react. I would ask that respect my wishes in this regard."

"Of course, Princess, I understand. May I add, the prince is a fine young colt and you should be proud of him."

"Believe me, I am. Though sometimes he tries my patience. I think he simply enjoys the challenge." She grinned, only for a second, but I caught it. "Now, I'm afraid I must ask you to go. Please send the repair bill to the palace and it shall be paid."

"Yes, your Majesty, I wish you and Prince Chris a good day and I hope to see you again young prince."

"As do I, Mr. Fancy Pants, Ms. Lee." I bowed and they returned the gesture to me and Celestia before they turned to leave.

Once they were gone, I turned to Celestia to await my scolding. Instead, she hugged me and quickly began to inspect my body. "Are you alright? You didn't get cut did you?"

"No, Mom, I'm alright."

"Thank goodness." For a second, I thought that was the end of it. It wasn't. She lifted my hand and swatted the back of it. "Now, off to your room, no dinner. Also, understand, I only do this because I love you, so very much."

"I know, Mom, I love you too." I kissed her on the cheek before I turned to head off to my room. If it weren't for Bunny sneaking me a snack, that would have been a miserable night indeed.

That's was how I met my first friends outside the gates.

* * *

**A/N: **I can't thank you all enough for all the likes and follows. It means a lot to me and I hope I don't disappoint you.

If anyone spots any grammar or spelling errors, let me know. Also, if anyone wants to do cover art for me, I'd very much appreciate it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I was woken by bunny, as per usual, the next morning. She seemed a little more upset than normal. She didn't even speak to me for a while as she simply cleaned the room while I got dressed. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Did I do something wrong?" She didn't say anything, but instead slapped a copy of 'The Canterlot Star' on the bed. 'The Star' was a local tabloid rag that not many ponies took seriously, most just picked it up for a laugh. "What's this about?"

"Read it," she growled.

I recovered from the mild shock and looked down at the paper. On the cover was an etching of a few buildings against the night sky. That most likely wasn't what she was upset about. The most probable candidate was the ape-like creature depicted. It was black and had long claws and an open mouth showing sharp fangs. The headline was four words, 'MONSTER SPOTTED IN CANTERLOT'.

"Hmm, interesting. Though I don't see what this has to do with me"

"Don't give me that. That's _you_ on the cover." She saw the mild hurt in my eyes when she said that. "No, that's not… you know that's not what I meant. Look, I know you feel cooped up in here, but this what your mother was worried about. What were you thinking?"

I sighed, "that maybe there was something else in this world than this palace. I thought, maybe I could meet some new ponies and make some friends. Maybe even meet a mare. I could have a life. I could have friends. I could find something other than a room in a tower."

"Maybe somepony would have seen you and panicked. They could have started a monster hunt." Just when I was thinking she was exaggerating, she came up and hugged me around the waist. It was then that I realized she was crying. "You could have been hurt. I don't want to see my friend get hurt."

"Hey, hey," I scratched behind her ear, "crying isn't fair." She let out a single chuckle. "Fine, I get it, I won't sneak out of the palace anymore."

She let go of me and wiped away the tears, "okay, now let's get to breakfast. I'm sure the princess is waiting."

We walked together through the halls, I could hear whispered conversations cut short every time a pair of guards came into view. When we entered the dining hall, Celestia was at her normal spot as was Blueblood. She didn't acknowledge our entrance, but instead, continued to read her paper. Blueblood, however, did.

"Did you have a nice day yesterday, cousin?"

I ignored him and sat down for breakfast. A tray was laid before me as I turned to Celestia. "Good morning, Mother. Did you sleep well?"

The paper she was reading was laid on the table. It was 'The Star'. "No, in fact. I was up quite late worried about this very thing."

I looked down at the etching for the second time that morning. "Honest, I have no idea who that guy is."

She slammed he hoof down on the table so hard, it split the wood. "This is no time for jokes, Christopher!" She took a deep breath as I sat back down. "I will be holding a press conference to nip this in the bud. If ponies think there is a monster loose in the city, who knows what they'll do." Blueblood mumbled something under his breath that everypony ignored. "I will tell them a monkey got loose from the gardens." There was a snicker from the other end of the table.

"Why not just tell them the truth?"

"Chris."

"They might accept it."

"Chris."

"I might be able to go outside…"

"Chris!" I stopped. "I don't think it's a good idea at this time." I felt like giving up at that point. She saw my look of total defeat and gave in a little. "I will think about," she lifted my chin with her hoof so I had to look into her eyes, "okay?"

I nodded and stood from the table. "May I be excused? I'm not hungry right now." She nodded. As I walked by Blueblood, he decided to, metaphorically, cut me a little deeper.

"Don't worry, cousin. I will bring you a banana later. After all, I know how much mon-"

I grabbed his ear and leaned down to whisper into it, "call me a monkey, ape or monster one more time, and I will sneak into your room while you're sleeping, shave you bald, drag you to the center of town and hang you up by your dock. Call me an abomination, and I swear to everything holy, I will have my first taste of pony meat. You understand?" He nodded and I let go.

After Bunny and I left the dining hall, she asked me, "you… you wouldn't _really_ eat him, would you?"

"Nah, his meat would be any good," I smiled down at her, "he's spoiled rotten." She actually giggled at that.

Later that day, Celestia had arranged a press conference to be held at the grand staircase. This way, she could stand on the first landing and be easily seen by everypony. What they couldn't see, and I doubt even she knew, was I was hiding at the second landing behind the doorway. I could hear everything this way.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm sure you've all seen the report about the alleged 'monster' loose in Canterlot." There was some babbling going on amongst the crowd. She raised a single hoof and the crowd silenced. "I want to assure you, there is nothing to worry about. I don't wish to discredit any of the ponies that saw the alleged creature, but I believe that they were merely mistaken, caused by a trick of the light or something similar. What the supposed 'monster' was," I begged in my mind for her to tell them about me, to let me have a life among the very ponies I was supposed to rule, "was nothing more than a large ape that wandered off from the palace gardens. He has been returned and I have been assured that it will not happen again."

She had just screwed me. I would either have to spend the rest of my life within these walls or run away and leave everything I knew behind and probably wind up dead within a year. I was furious. She had hurt and betrayed me. My own mother had secluded me from the rest of the world. So I did what any teenager would do, I acted out.

I screamed with the best chimp call I could, grabbed a vase off the plinth right next to me and threw it as hard as I could. It exploded against the archway. I stormed down the hallway, smashing everything I could get my hands on.

"Ahem, well it seems they are getting him under control as we speak. I believe I had better go and help them. If you will all excuse me. There are refreshments in the foyer, please help yourselves."

She walked up the stairs calmly and regally. That is, until she went through the archway, repairing the vase as she went. As soon as she was clear, she galloped straight to my room where I had locked myself inside.

"Christopher! Christopher, open this door."

"Go! Away!"

"Chris, let me in so we can talk!" She starting to power up her teleportation spell.

"Don't you know!? Apes can't talk!"

She froze. Her jaw dropped as her power quickly drained from her horn. It hit her. She had not only denied the existence of her only child, but she had called him an ape. She had done what she had tried to stop everypony else from doing his whole life. How could she? Why must she always push away the only family she has.

"Oh, Chris, I'm… I'm sorry."

Tears streaked down her face as she walked back to her room, her head hung almost low enough to drag on the marble. She ordered the first guard she saw to keep everypony away from her room except me. She canceled her court for the first time in centuries, claiming fatigue as the reason. The real reason was she didn't want anypony to see her soaking her pillows with tears.

It was a full two days before she came out of her chambers, and another week and a half before I spoke to her again. That was also around the time of the next Summer Sun Celebration. I couldn't just leave my mother to suffer through that alone, not ever again.

After that debacle with the tabloid story about the 'monster', there were still a few stories of sightings. All of them centered around the palace, its gardens and the woods nearby. Admittedly, those were all places I frequented, but I fully deny having been spotted. Even that one film that supposedly captured what was being dubbed 'Bighoof', I still swear that was hoax and in no way footage of me walking near a river in the woods.

Two years, and ponies were still buying into it. Of course it was true, there was some unknown creature _was_ living in Canterlot. It was very elusive and ape-like. It walked upright, was mostly hairless, and was omnivorous. All those the legends got right. What they got wrong was I do _NOT_ smell like rot and decay. I take pride in my hygiene.

Twilight had learned a lot from Celestia. Enough to be frightening if she ever got angry enough, she could potentially remove Canterlot from the mountain it rested on. However, she seemed unwilling to branch out among the populace. The only friends she had were myself and her brother, oh, and Spike.

Spike was an interesting case. Technically, Twilight would be his adoptive mother, but they didn't see it that way. For the two of them, he was her assistant and she was his caregiver. At best, they seemed like brother and sister.

Shining had realized his dream, managing to become the youngest captain of the Royal Guard ever. Without my help too. We had trained every day in the gardens, just like always. Sometimes, Cadence would even show up to visit. Now, I knew she wasn't there to just see me. She and Shining had been dating for a full year now, it took him that long just to ask her out.

After my blow up with Celestia, we managed to talk things out and put the whole ordeal behind us. She still loved me and I her. It had also only taken a month to get her to stop apologizing for calling me an 'ape'. I had to forgive her, to this day, she kept allowing herself to be the target of nasty rumors about her personal life just to protect me.

I was nineteen now and still living at home. Dust Bunny and Iron Hammer had a foal last year, a beautiful filly unicorn, like her mother. I loved that little filly and Bunny made sure to bring her along to visit me often. It was Bunny's attempt at making sure there was at least one pony in Equestria who was never afraid of me.

Today, it was a couple days before the Summer Sun Celebration, again. I was spending the day with Celestia, in the throne room of all places. I had wanted to stay close by, for her sake. Besides, court around the time of the Celebration was always light. So light in fact, that Celestia had toyed around with the idea of simply cancelling court during this time of the year.

"How you holding up, Mom?" I asked as I played with the water in the small pools by her throne. I had always wondered how she made them flow nonstop like that, but I knew what the answer would be, 'magic'.

"I'm doing well, thank you."

"Really?" I deadpanned.

"Surprisingly, yes. I have decided to visit Ponyville for this year's Celebration and they are making the arrangements as we speak."

"Ponyville? You mean that little village in the valley below the palace?"

"The very same. I'm very much looking forward to it." She leaned down and lowered her voice. "I hear they have bakers there that would put even our own to shame."

I chuckled, "of course. Just make sure you leave enough for them to sell to other ponies, alright." She swatted my head with a wing. "Hey~!" We exchanged a smile and a laugh.

"Actually, I chose Ponyville simply because it is the closet town to my old home, commonly called the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is where I lived with my sister exactly one thousand years ago and, I just wish to feel close to her again. Even if only for one day."

She was still smiling, but I knew better. I stood up and wrapped my arms around her, nuzzling into her neck. She returned the affection. "I'm worried about you, Mom. I know how hard the Celebration is on you. Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I can hide away in your room or something, nopony will ever see me."

She kissed me on the forehead, "thank you, Chris, but I'll be fine."

A few seconds later, a scroll popped out of a puff of green flame. It was a letter from Twilight. Celestia unrolled and read it aloud.

"My dearest teacher,

My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle"

She finished reading and I could see the hurt in her eyes. Twilight had just, inadvertently, reminded her of what she always considered to be her greatest failure.

"Mom?"

She sniffed and shook her head, "it's okay, Honey. I'm fine." She took out another scroll and a quill, then she started righting.

"My dear Twilight,

There is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!"

I chuckled a little as she read aloud while she wrote. I only wished I could have been there to see the look on Twilight's face when she got that letter. My joy was short lived though.

Another copy of 'The Star' was laid in my hands. The headline was one I was all too familiar with, 'BIGHOOF SPOTTED NEAR CANTERLOT'. It even had a blurry photo of me.

"What, I was careful and you said I could go into the woods. Besides, I was looking for those morning glories you love so much." Morning glory is a type of wild flower. First time I picked some for her, I cried because she ate them. "It's not my fault some pegasi fouls wanted to go on some Daring Do adventure."

That was how I became known as the Monster of Canterlot.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Twilight had gone to Ponyville. She was _very_ unhappy about it too. She had Spike going with her, so at least I knew she would be looked after. Even at her age, she still forgot to eat and sleep sometimes. Plus, Celestia had arranged for her to stay in the town library, known as the Golden Oak Library.

The night before the Celebration, Celestia had left for Ponyville. Sadly, I was left behind. At least I would be able to spend the day with Bunny and her family. I couldn't wait to see her little filly again. Little Cotton Tail with her puffy white mane and tail had to be the cutest filly since Twilight. Of course, she was the only filly I'd seen since Twilight.

The problem was, the sun hadn't been raised. That was a _big_ problem. What was even weirder was that the unicorn shape on the moon had disappeared. Removing craters from the surface of an astro-body like the moon would take somepony as powerful as Celestia herself.

The fact that somepony out there was powerful enough to not only alter the moon's appearance but to also make Celestia disappear was terrifying. In fact, it was a nightmare. In fact, the hubbub around the palace was that that's exactly what it was, a Nightmare.

I wasn't sure, but just in case, I put on the armor that Iron Hammer had made for me and strapped on the sword and crossbow that Gurfon had given me. Hammer had put on a set of his own armor as well. His armor, like mine, had to be made special. Mine because of my shape, his because he had the muscle mass of two stallions and came up to my chest. He had a bandolier full of hammers around his barrel and knew how to use them.

Now, we hadn't gotten all done up with the intention of running of to fight. No, we had armored up for no other purpose than to protect Dust Bunny and Cotton Tail. We had holed up inside my quarters and Celestia help any thing that tried to enter the room.

Luckily, nothing happened. After a few hours of unplanned night, the sun rose. Turns out, Twilight was right all along. The Mare on the Moon, Nightmare Moon, _had_ returned to Equestria. She had managed to send Celestia to the moon, her idea of justice I guess, which was why the sun hadn't been risen.

The biggest surprise was how Nightmare Moon had been stopped. Twilight Sparkle had somehow managed to make five friends in under a day. Then, her and those five mares had worked their way through the Everfree to reach Celestia's old castle. There they found the Elements of Harmony and used them to not only defeat Nightmare Moon, but return Luna to her former self. The only downside was, the Elements had drained her power to the point that she had resumed her filly form, though she would rebuild her power soon enough and be back to her adult form.

After a huge celebration in Ponyville, Celestia returned to Canterlot Palace plus on alicorn. She had rushed to my room as quickly as she could without raising alarm. Luckily, a six foot tall, white alicorn is an easy thing to recognize. Also luckily, I hadn't had much practice with my crossbow and the chipped wood could be repaired.

"Mom!" I dropped the crossbow and ran to her. "I was so worried."

"And yet you still decided to defend Miss Bunny and her foul?" I nodded. "Yet again, you make me proud." She started to nuzzle me but stopped halfway there, "you can take your armor off now you know."

"Oh, right." I removed my armor and weapons as did Iron Hammer. "There, better?"

She hugged me again and nuzzled me, "much." She released me and nodded to Bunny and her family, "I am also glad to see you are all well."

"Thank you, Princess. We are also very pleased to see you are alright."

Celestia nodded again. "Now, Chris, come along. There is somepony I want you to meet."

She led me into the throne room and instructed me to wait. I did as instructed. I idly wandered around the room and stopped in front of one of the stained glass windows. As I stood there and watched the sunlight dance through the glass, I heard approaching voices coming from the other side of the entryway.

"…I shall give you a tour of the rest of the palace soon, sister. For now, let us just be happy in being together again after all this time."

"Very well, sister, We shall do as thou hast asked."

I could hear Celestia giggle at the odd speech pattern, "alright, but first, I must introduce you to somepony."

"Of course, Tia. We would be…" The second her eyes fell on my, the blue alicorn froze. It allowed me to see her in detail. Her coat wasn't the dark blue everypony's used to, but was instead a rich sky blue. Her main and tail also were not the ethereal form filled with the night sky either, it was instead a baby blue with curls. She looked less intimidating and more… like a sweet little schoolfilly, only larger.

"Luna, this is-"

"MONSTER! THOU DAREST TO INVADE THY HOME!" Her horn flared. "WE SHALL TEACH THOU THE ERROR OF THINE WAYS."

She blasted me. She actually blasted me. Normally, a magic blast from an alicorn would be more than enough to take down even a full grown dragon. Fortunately, her power was drained and I was largely immune to magic. That didn't mean it didn't hurt though. I reeled from the hit but recovered quickly, covering my chest over the impact area.

"Luna, stop!" Celestia yelled.

"Great, awesome," I glared at Luna, "just perfect!"

"THE MONSTER SPEAKS?!"

"Well, that makes it official. I really must be a monster if BUCKING NIGHTMARE MOON SAYS SO!"

I heard the gasp from both mares, but didn't care. I completely ignored Celestia's attempts to stop me. I ran out of the throne room, madder than I've ever been. The whole time I've been here, only a couple ponies ever bothered to know me before they simply branded me. It seemed that that would never change.

"Luna!" Celestia yelled, making Luna tremble at the sound of her anger. "That was my son, your nephew. He has been persecuted his whole life because he's different. He doesn't need it from his family too!"

Luna stood there with her jaw hanging open loosely. Celestia stormed off to find me. She went straight to where she always found me when I was upset, the Hall of Legends. Unfortunately, I wasn't there. Neither was the window I loved so much.

I had always found solace in that window, but not today. All I saw when I looked at that window today was her. That blue bitch who reminded me just how far from home I really was. So I removed that which hurt me.

I had thrown vases, busts and plinths through that window. I made sure that there was only one princess left on that window, and she had pink hair. After I had broken enough glass, I went through it. Below those beautiful windows, was the gardens. I spent a lot of good times in those gardens and I was always comfortable there.

I had gone into the hedge maze. Few ponies knew it as well as I did. Even Celestia didn't go in there often enough to memorize its twists and turns. It was a pretty safe bet that I would be able to stay hidden in there for as long as I liked.

It may have been foolish, but I was hurting. First Blueblood, then the guards, then the whole city and probably all of Equestria called me a monster. Now, the biggest threat Equestria had ever faced had been turned back to her former self and still, I was the monster. I just wanted the world to go away. Just go away and leave me alone.

The sound of wings overhead let me know that wasn't going to happen. I scurried under the hedge to remain hidden and waited for the wings to fly away. Just as I was about to crawl out from my hideout, I heard hooves and shouts. I also saw magic lights from unicorns, it had gotten dark. Celestia must have sent the guards out to look for me.

Even after they passed, I decided to stay put. I had played in far worse filth that the underside of a hedge in the royal gardens. Besides, it reminded me of home.

Celestia flew over the gardens for the fourth time that day. She was worried for my safety. She was hurt by my pain. She was angry that it was her own sister that had caused it. More than anything, she was scared. Celestia was downright terrified that I had run off for good, or worse, that I had tried to run and gotten hurt by someone or something. Equestria was home to some pretty nasty creatures after all, and she knew I wasn't one of them.

Luna flew up next to Celestia. "Sister, has thou found any signs?"

Celestia put all her concentration into holding her tongue and her tears back. Screaming at Luna or bawling her eyes out would serve no useful purpose right now. "No, Luna, I have not, and I am getting more and more concerned."

"We-We are sorry. We did not know of thou relation to that-"

"Watch. What. You. Say." Celestia glared at Luna from a very uncomfortable distance of only a few inches. "Chris is my son and I will not have anypony speak ill of him or call him monkey or ape or creature or… or monster." Celestia couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She slowly drifted down to the ground and dropped onto her haunches. Luna touched down next to her and wrapped a wing around her sister. "I've tried… I've tried so hard to help him and keep him safe. Everyday he makes me happy and so very proud, but still… still I feel like I've let him down. I feel like I've let him down the same way I let you down one thousand years ago."

"No, sister, it was We who let thou down. Thou did what must be done in order to protect Equestria. Thou art far too hard on thou self."

Celestia actually snickered a little, "we really must work on your speech patterns, Luna," Luna smiled and nodded in response, "but thank you. For now, let us continue our search."

Both princesses took to the air once again and spread out. Luna went over the gardens while Celestia went to check the city one more time. She had thought that I might have gone to Fancy Pants, I had grown fairly close to him despite only seeing him a dozen times or so. Luna, being unfamiliar with Canterlot, didn't think she could be of any help there.

I had gotten out of my hole in the bushes and continued deeper into the maze. The underside of a bush was comfortable and all, but I didn't really want to stay there all night. Instead, I went to the pond in the center. There was a tree and a few benches that I could sit on. I never understood why ponies needed benches when their legs don't bend the proper way to use them.

I sat on the bench in the moonlight and watched the fish swim. I envied them a little. They knew their purpose. They were where they were meant to be. They were with their own kind. No one ever called a koi a monster.

I sat there and wallowed in self-pity, so much so that I almost didn't hear the wings or the sound of hooves on grass.

"Go. Away."

"Christopher."

I only heard that voice once, but once was enough. At the time, I never wanted to hear it again. "You. You can go right back to the moon for all I care." I stood and got right in her face. "Every day, every single bucking day, Celestia worries that somepony is going to say something or do something to drive me away. And what's the very first thing you do when we meet?" Luna's eyes were wide with shock at the realization, this was all her fault. "That's right, you did both. You're just lucky I'm partly immune to magic or I doubt Celestia would have been to stop herself from returning the favor."

Now Luna was confused. "Why would our sister attack us?"

"I guess she didn't tell, she's my mother now. I was brought here by accident and she took me in. I watched Celestia suffer through the memory of your loss and listened to her say how much she wanted you back by her side. For years, I held her as she cried herself to sleep every year on the anniversary of your banishment. The same way she held me as I cried for having lost my home and family. She took me in and loved and cared for me for thirteen years." I thrust a finger in her face where it shook with anger. "She wanted _you_ here more than anything so _we_ could be a family. You took that away from her!"

"We are sorry. We did not know." Now I could see her eyes starting to moisten. "We truly are sorry for what We have done."

"I believe you, but I'm going to be mad for a while anyway. Now, I'll return to the palace, you go and bring Celestia home."

Luna agreed and flew off. I, on the other hand, returned to my room where Bunny and her family were waiting for me to return. Also, there was a shower in there.

I had come out of my wash room, fresh and clean, just in time to hear the door nearly come off its hinges before I was tackled by a very happy alicorn. "Oh, Chris, thank goodness you're alright! I was so very worried!"

"I'm okay, Mom, I'm okay." My apparent well-being did little to hold back the tide of squeezes and kisses. I'm also sorry about the window in the hall."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Dear, I'm just glad you're alright. Luna told me she found you."

"Yeah, and we talked for a bit. I think I'm willing to try being a family if you two are." I nodded toward the splintered door, that still had a crossbow bolt stuck in it, where Luna was peeking around the corner.

"Well, how about it, Luna, are you ready to be an aunt?"

Luna hesitantly stepped into the room and gave a single nod. "Yes, We would like that very much." She closed the distance between Celestia and myself and hugged both of us.

And that was when out family became complete.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Breakfast the next morning was… interesting. There was still tension between Luna and I, but neither of us wanted to upset Celestia or the happiness she felt over finally having the whole family together. Truthfully, so were we, it's just that our first meeting was far less than ideal.

Luna had apologized, and I told her I wasn't ready to accept that just yet. I mean, she did try to kill me without even a hesitation. I had been called a monster, but nopony had ever caused me physical damage before now. So, yeah, I was still angry.

I entered the dining hall, with Dust Bunny trailing behind as always. Celestia was there before us as always. Next to her, in my seat no less, was Luna. I walked past Blueblood and completely ignored him, for my own sanity and peace of mind.

"Good morning, Mother." I kissed Celestia and her cheek. "Luna."

"Good morning, Dear."

"Good marrow, Christopher."

I sat down across from Luna on the other side of Celestia. Breakfast was placed before me as was some juice. I was about to start, but I stopped and looked up at Luna.

"Listen, Luna, about yesterday." Both alicorns looked at me with concern. "I had said something in anger that I regret. I called you Nightmare Moon and I apologize. That's not who you are anymore and I shouldn't have said that. Anger or pain is no excuse. I am sorry."

Luna looked shocked. She still wasn't sure that _I_ would ever forgive _her_, and then suddenly, here I was apologizing to her. "W-We accept. We also wish to apologize once more. We acted rashly when we first met. Thou art not a monster and We should not have attacked thou."

I was about to accept, I had given it a lot of thought and decided to forgive and forget, when I was interrupted from the other end of the table. "I disagree, Auntie. I feel you were too easy on that mons-"

"Finish the sentence, Blue-boy, and I swear, on the two deities before me, that I will teach you first-hand how humans became apex predators!"

"Predator? Thou art a predator?"

I didn't take my eyes off Blueblood as he glared back at me. "Yes, humans are omnivores and eat meat." I could practically feel the disgust from across the table. "Humans were descended from apes and need a high protein diet. Meat is the best source for that protein. Animals in my world are unintelligent, unlike here, and we raise them for slaughter. I agree it's nasty business, but evolution made me what I am. I won't apologize for it."

"We see. Well, as thou have said, tis not by choice. We shall learn to accept this part of thou."

It was about as good as I was going to get and I was okay with that. Celestia seem to feel the same way as she was grinning widely.

"Good, and with that all settled, I have an announcement to make."

Celestia had decided to throw a celebration to welcome her sister back to Equestria. The idea was, the party would allow ponies to be introduced to their newest princess while at the same time, allowing Luna to acclimate to the modern world as little. Best part was, everyone I knew was going to be invited. Twilight's parents, Fancy Pants and Fleur, and, best of all, Gurfon.

"Gurfon's coming!" Celestia nodded, still grinning. "Excellent."

I had just bit into a slice of toast, when I heard a commotion from outside the doors. The voice could be heard clearly enough to tell it was Shining Armor.

"I SHOULD BUCK YOU OFF THE GUARD FOR SPEAKING LIKE THAT ABOUT YOUR PRINCESS! NOW GIVE ME TEN LAPS AROUND THE PALACE! NOW! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! AND I MEAN THE PERIMETER, NOT THE STRUCTURE!" My man. "AND YOU! GIVE ME FIFTY PUSH-UPS RIGHT NOW FOR EVEN LISTENING TO HIS GARBAGE!"

"Morning, Shining, Cadence." I called to them as they trotted through the door.

"Cousin!" Cadence came to me and we hugged. Then she slugged me. "You had us all so worried last night. What were you thinking?"

I was about to say something about being blasted and called a monster, but instead went with, "I wasn't, okay? Besides, I never left the grounds, so nopony saw me."

"Mhmm, fine. Just don't run off again. You know how much your family worries about you."

There was some more mumbling coming from the end of the table again. I distinctly heard a sounds, like 'mo', 'er' and 'st'. I politely pushed Cadence aside, stood and walked over to Blueblood. I reached back and slapped his perky ears. And I mean hard, too. Not a playful little slap, but full on red-maned stepfoul. The sound of the slapped skin echoed around the hall… and it felt goooood…

Blueblood jumped out of his seat and spun on me. Ahh, the wondrous hate in his eyes. "How dare you, you mo-"

Suddenly, he was frozen in place. "We believe, thou were warned fairly. Therefore, this slight is on your hooves, not his."

"Thank you, Lu- _Aunt_ Luna."

I think that's the biggest smile I've seen on Celestia's face in a long time. Luna and I had decided to put our first encounter behind us and try again. _Now_, the family could be complete. Next, came the kingdom.

The next evening was the party. All the Canterlot elite arrived to see their new/old princess. It was the event of the season. At least until the Grand Galloping Gala came back around. Unfortunately, even from my hidden observation point up on the balcony, I could tell a lot of the partygoers were here only to be seen being here.

I felt bad for Luna. She was a rightful princess. Born into royalty and meant to rule. She had raised the moon for centuries and protected her subjects with her life. Yet here they all were, faking their adoration for her. It was sick.

I wish I could be down there with her. Luna and Celestia both could see the same thing I could. She needed support and I wanted to give it to her. She did have her sister and her niece though, so that would just have to do.

Meanwhile, I was stuck up here in the cheap seats. I understood, really I did, but every year it got harder and harder. If it weren't for the fact that I had maids, well maid, bringing me snacks and drinks, along with a few visitors, I would have been far more upset.

"Uncle Gurfon, it's so good to see you."

"You too, Chris. These once a month visits just aren't enough for me and my favorite human."

"I agree. Maybe someday, I'll be allowed to leave the palace on my own and then I could visit you for once."

"Perhaps, though I agree with your mother on this one. Griffons can be more violent than dragons and I fear not all of my citizens would see you as harmless. Predators can smell other predators, Nephew."

"I know, I know. It still bothers me though."

"Yes, but if you got hurt, how would our little Twilight feel?" a feminine voice asked.

"Aunt Velvet, Uncle Night, it's so good to see you." I knelt down and hugged the silver unicorn and her blue husband.

"I think that means it's time for me to make an appearance downstairs," Gurfon said as he bowed his head and started for the door.

"Alright, thanks for stopping by, Uncle Gurfon." I stood back up, still holding both Twilight's parents who were laughing about it.

"Alright, alright, we get it, you're huge and strong. Can you set us down now?" Night Light asked.

"Wha- oh, am I still holding you two?" It was one of our little jokes, like Shining and calling me a monkey on rare occasions, I would pick them up like they were no more than toys and they would laugh. These two had been there since the beginning and there was no force in Equestria that would make me cause any harm to them. "Here I thought you were a couple of stuffed plushies."

"Oh~, you are so lucky you are immune to our magic."

"Now is that any way to talk to your beloved nephew, Aunt Velvet?" I set them both down and released them.

"Says the colt who's bigger than Celestia herself," Night teased.

"Not my fault. Besides, I would happily give up my height and magic immunity if I could just walk around town without causing a riot. It's just one more reason ponies get frightened by me."

"Will we both see it as just something that makes you unique," Night offered.

"That's right, and we both love you _for_ it, and _not_ in spite it. You remember that."

"Yes, Ma'am, I will. Thank you, both of you. Now you better head downstairs before ponies start to think you are skipping out of the festivities."

"Okay, Dear, just keep in mind we are both here for you if ever you need us."

"She's right you know. Besides, with Twilight staying in Ponyville and Shining out of the house, we need somepony to baby."

"Wow, thank you so much, Uncle Night." They both chuckled. "Seriously though, I love you both and appreciate the thought."

After that, I was left alone again. I resumed peeking around a curtain at the ponies below. I caught the eyes of Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee. They both nodded at me, they didn't want to draw attention to me and risk my being spotted.

But I was spotted. Luna was looking right at me. I could tell by the look in her big, aqua-marine eyes that she was hurting. She could see the poorly hidden fear and hate in all their eyes. Her subjects weren't accepting her as their true princess of the night.

I knew exactly how she felt. I was the prince of this land and still I had to be hidden away for fear of fear. We may have had the rough start to end all rough starts, but now we had something in common. Well, something in common other than Celestia.

I had decided, then and there, that I would do my best to make sure I never did anything to hurt her. If I could have, I would have gone down there and shook some sense into each and every one of those stuck-up ponies. Heh, that would have been something.

Instead, I could only watch and wait. At least I could tell that Celestia saw the problem too. Every so often, Celestia would wrap a wing around her little sister and offer a smile. It was helping, but not enough. She was still troubled, but at least she knew she had family here that cared about her.

This went on for about another hour and a half. After that, most of the ponies had left, social obligations satisfied. Thus, only royals were left, except for Blueblood, who had left an hour ago with some green maned bimbo. I had run down to the hall as quickly as I could and went straight for Luna. I wrapped my arms around her and actually picked her up, despite her shock. Eventually, she gave in and returned my hug.

"I'm sorry that didn't go the way you hoped, Aunt Luna. They don't know who they're missing." I set her back down on her thrown. "For what it's worth, know that I like you for who you are, and I know your sister does."

"That's right, I love you dearly, Luna," Celestia confirmed, "and I am so very happy to have you back here with me."

"That's right!" Shining called out a couple seconds before Cadence nuzzled him.

"Luna, you have a wonderful family here, I only wish my own chicks could be half as supportive," Gurfon offered. "It may not be my place to say, but I believe if you focus on the love and support they are offering, then, given time, the rest of your country may come to feel the same way as they do."

She looked up at all of us, wiping a tear from her eye. "We thank ye, all of ye, truly."

"Of course," Celestia wrapped her wings around both myself and Luna, "we'll always be here for you." Her wings then folded back against her sides. "Now, let's go get some cake."

And we did. We each sat around the table with our cake slices, except for Celestia who had a whole cake to herself, and discussed Luna's assimilation into modern society. She would need to learn the history of the last one thousand years. Luna would also need to be shown around the country to see how it has changed. Not to mention her speech patterns were a tad out of date.

As far as her living space, Celestia had arranged for her to have her own tower. Not because Celestia felt her sister wasn't worthy of staying in the castle with us. Far from it. She simply believed that Luna should have her own space to call her own, complete with telescope and star chart.

Needless to say, it took some time. I did what I could. I supported her and defended her. There were even a few new dents on some helmets. It wasn't long before everypony in the palace knew better than to even utter the words Nightmare Moon. It's worth risking one of them lashing out to see that smile on her blue face.

It wasn't long before Luna was starting to settle in. She even returned to her normal size, darker color and ethereal mane and tail. Luna had also resumed her duties of raising the moon and patrolling the dreamscape. After that came the Night Court, relieving some stress from Celestia's day court. At least it would, eventually. It would be a while before the citizens accepted Luna as their princess.

Luckily, Twilight was able to help her with that. I'm sure we all heard the tale of Luna's visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night. The story I got was that it was on the verge of total disaster all night. Thankfully, they made it work and the town totally loved her in the end.

And that's how Luna returned to her throne.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The whole next year, we are all pretty familiar with. Twilight's exploits along with the other Elements of Harmony have been published all across Equestria and become the stuff of legends. Sometimes literally. She made Celestia, Luna and I all very proud.

There are, of course, some things nopony knows. For one thing, the reason Spike was away during Twilight's first sleepover was because he was visiting me. The reason Celestia invited Twilight for the Grand Galloping Gala was because I asked her to, and it was a riot, in more ways than one (especially when Rarity told Blueblood off). Luna wasn't missing during the attack on Canterlot during Shining and Cadence's wedding, she was protecting me up in her tower at Celestia's direct orders. It was even my suggestion that Cadence and Shining took control of the Crystal Empire, though I'm sure that would have been the result in any case.

Now I was twenty years old. Twilight had become princess. Discord was good. The Crystal Empire was hosting the Equestria Games. Luna was talking like a normal pony, most times, though it was pretty funny when Celestia told her to use the Royal Canterlot Voice. Things had started to look up for everypony. Well, almost.

I was feeling more cooped up than ever. As a result, I was sneaking out into the Whitetail Wood more often. I was always careful not to be seen, but nopony's perfect. Reports of 'the Monster of Canterlot' and 'Bighoof' had made their way back into the tabloids and rumor mills. This meant Celestia was a little upset with me but she couldn't fully blame me.

Then, one morning, it all went down the drain. I was woken by Bunny, showered, shaved and went off for breakfast. When I reached the door, something stopped me dead in my tracks.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO SELFISH SISTER?!" Luna's booming voice came from inside.

I pressed my ear to the door so I could hear better. A bit underhanded I know, but I wanted to know what was going on before I rushed in.

"I… I needed him." Him? Him who?

"AND HE NEEDED HIS OWN KIND!" She couldn't be talking about me, could she?

"I know, I know, but I couldn't let him go. I'm his mother."

"NO, YOU ARE HIS _ADOPTED_ MOTHER! HIS _REAL_ MOTHER IS IN ANOTHER REALM!"

"NO! I _AM_ his mother! I am!"

"And if he know you could have sent him back to his own world, do you think he would still want to call you mother?"

No. There's no way that could be right. There's no way Celestia would have kept information like that from me. "That is why he must never know. He may want me to send him back now and that would... I don't even want to think about it." I could practically feel my world shattering around me. It was true.

Both alicorns stopped their argument and turned to the door that I had just slammed open. Hard enough to chip the marble, too. "How long?"

"Honey," Celestia started to approach me.

"HOW LONG?!"

She stopped, she looked at Luna for support. Luna's face was one of concern. Celestia turned back to me, "twelve years."

"TWELVE YEARS?! TWELVE BUCKING YEARS!?" She could only nod as tears started to fall from her eyes. "I could have gone back to my family, I could have had a life, I could have gone outside without being called a monster. Now, they probably think I've been dead for years. Can you imagine how hard that whole thing must have been for my mom." Celestia was trying to come closer, but I backed away from her, shaking my head. "Luna's right, you're not my mother."

That was the final nail in the proverbial coffin for Celestia. Her knees shook before failing completely, sending her to the floor. Her mane and tail paled and went limp shortly after. I didn't see much of this though. I was already sprinting down the hall, heading for the nearest exit. From there, I made a bee line for the woods.

I didn't really have a destination in mind, I just wanted to put as much distance between me and the palace as possible. Though, after the first day, I decided I should pick a point on the map and go for it. I picked Ponyville, Twilight made it sound like a place I could find hope. Besides, my cousin lived there.

It wasn't all easy going though. Celestia and Luna had both sent out their guards to look for me and bring me back. Luckily, Gurfon had taught me to hunt and Shining and I played hide and seek often, this gave me a huge advantage. I hid my tracks by walking on stones often and walking through rivers to disguise my scent and hide my unique tracks. Any time one of them would get close, I would hide up a tree, or under a bush.

I had managed to avoid being detected for three days and Celestia was getting more and more worried with each passing hour. The only thing she knew was that I was still alive. Or at least, she knew that every time a report came in about the search. They were finding footprints and not much else. Problem was, they were finding so few they could only determine that I wasn't headed for the palace.

Celestia decided she needed to call in her best weapon. Discord could probably find me in no time, but he was far more likely to help me run than bring me back to her just for the fun of it. No, her best weapon was her newest princess and most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. She sent a letter telling Twilight to report to the palace ASAP. Shining would probably be the best choice, but Twilight was far easier to reach. Besides, Twilight had never let her down before.

I was approaching the edge of the woods, I could see Ponyville through the trees. I could only hope they would be as friendly there as Twilight made it seem. Also, I hoped they would be generous with the grub, I didn't exactly take the time to grab something on the way out the door. Of course, I could have done some hunting, but I wouldn't feel right doing something like that to the Equestrian wildlife. Due to the saturation of magic in the land, they all had mild intelligence, unlike everywhere else in the world.

Before I came out of the brush, I saw three little fillies playing. They looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew them from. I certainly hadn't met them before, that's for sure. From what I could tell, they were having a picnic. I could only focus on their meal and how much I wanted some for myself. In hindsight, I could have handled it better.

I burst out of the bushes, covered in dirt and small cuts, and stinking to high heaven. "Thank goodness I found you girls! I'm sooo hungry!" Yeah, not the best first impression ever.

The second their eyes started to widen, I knew I blew it. All three of them screamed at the same time, in the same cadence no less, "AH, A MONSTER, AND HE WANTS TO EAT US!" I started to protest, but they were already buzzing back to town in wagon attached to a scooter.

Twilight had just received her letter from Celestia in her library. Her five friends were already there helping her reshelf all the books, again.

"Oh my. This is bad. Spike, I need to get back to Canterlot immediately. Can you take care of things here?"

"Sure thing, Twilight, but what's so urgent?"

"It's…" she looked around at the ponies in the room, knowing she couldn't tell them, "it's a family thing. Um, my _cousin_ has run away." It took Spike a second or two, but he figured it out and simply nodded with a stern look on his face.

"Oh no." Fluttershy spoke up, "we'll come help search too." All the others agreed.

"I appreciate that, really I do, but you can't." They were all shocked and about to argue when the door shot open.

"Twilight, Twilight, you have to help us!" Sweetie Belle yelled.

"What is it?"

"There's a monster!" Scootaloo called out.

"It tried ta eat us!" Apple Bloom added.

"Well, I uh…"

"Don't sweat it, Twi. We got this," Applejack told her.

"That's right, Darling," Rarity said. "You need to go back to Canterlot to find your cousin."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.

"Yep-er-oonie!" Pinkie answered.

"Thank you, girls. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can." After she teleported away, the others turned to the three little fillies.

"Alright, now tell us about this monster so we can kick its flank back to where it came," Rainbow Dash said.

The three fillies told them about the giant monster that burst out of the woods and charged right at them. How it said it was hungry and was going to eat them. How it walked on two legs and had claws like Spike. This got the little dragon's attention.

"Say what now? That sounds like-"

"C'mon girls, let's get this creature before it comes into town!" Rainbow shouted.

"Yeah!" came four more voices just before they galloped out of the library.

"No, wait!" Spike called after them but he was too late. He knew he couldn't catch them with his little legs, so he went back inside and started to frantically write a letter for Twilight.

"Princess, I'm here!"

"Twilight, thank goodness. I only wish this meeting could be under better circumstances."

"How can I help?"

Celestia smiled for a second before she went back to her somber expression. Her mane was still limp, her eyes were bloodshot, and her fur was matted and her normal sheen was gone. "Chris has run off and we aren't certain were he's gone. You know him as well as anypony could. Please, help me find him and bring him back to safety."

"Of course, Princess. I will begin my search immediately." A thought occurred to her, "perhaps, if I brought my friends in on the search, we could find him faster."

Celestia was about to protest, but Luna jumped in before she could, "I believe that would be for the best." Twilight nodded and turned to leave, "keep in mind, he may not be willing to return."

"Why wouldn't-" Suddenly, Spikes letter appeared before her. She read it quickly. "Oh no, I, uh,I have to go." Twilight teleported back to Ponyville.

"Curious, what could have gotten Twilight Sparkle to leave so abruptly?" Luna wondered as she walked over to where Twilight teleported away from and picked up the letter. "Oh no."

"What? What is it, Sister?" Celestia snatched the letter from Luna's magical grasp before she could stop her.

Twilight,

I think the monster the girls are going after might in fact be Chris. Please get back here before they do something to him.

Spike

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the shaking of the parchment. A second later, the parchment burst into flames. Celestia's coat began shine and her mane seemed to be made from multi-colored flame. With her eyes blazing, she began to power up her teleportation spell.

"Sister, wait!" Luna tried to stop Celestia from doing anything rash, but she was already gone. "This shall not end well."

I was making my way across the large field between Ponyville and the Whitetail Wood. I was a little stung by the fillies running off like that, but I was used to it by now. I only hoped that the mares and stallions in town would be a little more receptive. Heck, when Twilight showed up, she immediately made five friends and got a party. I was just hoping for an apple and a glass of water. Sadly, it seemed I would not be getting any of what I wanted.

I approached the town, but I was cut off before I could even reach the first building. Twilight's friends, the other Elements of Harmony, came galloping up the road and they did not look happy. What's worse, they started coming right for me as soon as they saw me. They all looked like they were itching for a fight.

"There it is!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Oh, it's so… tall," Fluttershy pointed out.

"That jest means it'll hurt 'em more when he falls," Applejack threatened.

"That's right," Rarity said. "We cannot allow that monster to reach Ponyville. It's already tried to devour our sisters, who knows what would happen if it got past us."

"Wha… but I didn't-" I tried to defend myself, but they weren't giving me the chance.

"Don't try lying ta us! Our sisters told us everythin'!'

"I'm not-" I could feel magic being used on me, but nothing happened.

"I-I don't understand. My magic isn't having any effect on him." Rarity observed.

"Then we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way!" Rainbow Dash said as she started flying right for me.

I managed to dodge her attack by rolling in the grass. "I was only trying to get something to eat! It's been _three_ days."

"That don't mean ya'll can eat our sisters!" Applejack shouted as she tossed two apples into the air, spun and bucked them both. I only managed to dodge one. The other glanced off my shoulder, stinging like you wouldn't believe.

That was the moment I decided to run.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

When I woke up, I was still in the Royal Infirmary. It was late in the day and the room was filled with the sound of rhythmic beeping. As I opened my eyes, I saw it was also filled with ponies. Luckily, I knew all of them. Sadly, there weren't many.

Twilight was there, right by my side. Philomena was perched on top of the IV stand. Bunny was seated next to Hammer with Cotton Tail on her lap, looking very sad (she was three now). Then there was Luna and the last pony I wanted to see at that moment.

"No. Get out." I pointed at Celestia, who was crying.

It was the first thing I said to anypony and it got a startled reaction from all of them. They all looked back and forth from each other to me with expressions of bewilderment. I, on the other hand, only glared at the largest one in the room who stared back at me. It was obvious, I had broken her heart. I didn't care.

"Honey, please, you're hurt and need some rest," she tried to calm me down.

"No, I just need you to GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" I yelled at her again. She looked like I had just slapped across the muzzle.

"Christopher, stop this. You should not speak like this to your mother." Luna was trying to play peacemaker.

"That. Is. Not. My. Mother." I was nearly growling. "No mother would lie to her son for twelve years. Now, GET OUT!" She didn't move. She was too stunned by what I said. "Fine, then I'll leave." I started yanking wires and tubes, setting off alarms as I did.

All around the room, ponies were telling me to stop, Dust Bunny was practically begging me to. Celestia simply stood and left without saying a word. As soon as the door closed, I laid back into the bed again. I picked up an apple from the table and brought it to my lips. Just before I took a bite, it was transformed into a pinecone.

"What in Tartarus is wrong with you?!" Twilight screamed at me. "Can't you see you broke her heart?"

"Yeah, can I have my apple back now? I'm still hungry."

The pinecone was levitated out of my hand, turned back into an apple, and rocketed back at my face. It missed by less than an inch and exploded against the wall. "Your mother is dying inside and you're more concerned about an APPLE?!" Twilight screamed at me.

"I already told you, that's not my mother. That is my captor." Twilight was seething. "Did she tell you she could have sent me back?" That got her to stop yelling.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'back'?"

"Back, home, Earth, to my own kind." I stared at her, deadpan.

"You-you want to leave? You want to leave Equestria for Earth?" All eyes were on me.

"I… I'm not sure."

Cotton Tail jumped from her mother's lap and climbed up onto my hospital bed (specially made for my anatomy). She then stood on my hips and placed her front hooves on my chest. "Please don' go, Chris." Her quivering lips and teary eyes weren't playing fair. "I love you."

"I know that, Fluffy Butt," she giggled at my nickname for her, she always did, "but it's not that simple." I cradled her in my arms and tickled her belly eliciting copious amounts of adorable giggles.

"Then I believe you have some thinking to do," Luna said as she stood from her seat. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must tend to my duties. Christopher, I am glad to see that you are alright."

"Thanks, Aunt Luna, and you're right, I do some thinking to do." I lifted Cotton Tail up where she was levitated out of my hands and floated back over to her parents who had also stood up from their seats. She was placed on her father's back. "If you will all excuse me, I would like some time to myself."

They all filed out of the room, Philomena had perched on Luna's back for a ride. Twilight looked back over her shoulder at me as she walked. She looked very concerned, bordering on worried. She turned and continued to walk out, an apple floated over to me surrounded in a familiar purple aura.

I didn't talk to Celestia for two weeks after the incident. She tried to bribe with gifts and treats left with the guards outside my room. She left notes and even had Philomena fly in letters through the open door to my balcony. I wasn't having any of it. I gave the treats to the guards and sent the notes and letters back, unopened and unread.

She went about her daily duties, wearing a proverbial mask the whole time. Celestia showed a smile and a nod, she greeted everypony she saw. However, whenever she wasn't on her throne, everything was different. Her mane didn't float and her coat didn't shine. With her head hung low, Celestia haunted her own halls.

Twilight came by almost every day. She was trying to play peacemaker. It was tearing her up almost as much as it was Celestia. She felt that since she was the one who brought me here, it was her fault that the princess she loved like a mother and the one she thought of as a cousin were hurting so much. It wasn't.

Twilight was also trying to convince us both not to blame her friends for what happened. I pointed out that I didn't beat _myself_ halfway to death. I understood why it happened, but I wasn't exactly ready to forgive them any more than I was Celestia. Though, them I was at least willing to talk to.

After two weeks of avoiding her and ducking into random halls and doorways, I had made my decision. Actually, it was quite a few decisions. After Dust Bunny woke me and tip-hooved around any touchy subjects, I made my way to the dining hall, which came as a bit of a shock to Bunny as well as the guards.

I walked in and ignored Blueblood's look of utter disappointment and took my seat near the alicorns. Both watched me intently, but Celestia's look was one of hope and desperation.

"I've come to some conclusions. One, going back to Earth would be no good," Blueblood groaned, "Since I don't even remember what my last name was or even what city I lived in, I would have no home to go back to, besides, they've probably already declared me dead already. Two, I'm not ready to forgive you, yet, but I think I get why you didn't tell me. Three, in one week, I will walk right out the front gates of the palace and into the city. I'm tired of being hidden away like some foals soiled sheets. So either you let the citizenry know about me ahead of time or when I do walk through the gates, I might just keep on walking."

"Of course, Hon-"

"Don't. We are way too far from back to normal for you to call me any cute little nicknames." I glared at Celestia as I stood to leave. "We may get there again, but not right now. If anypony needs me, I'll be in the gardens."

Celestia watched me leave. She as happy I had decided to talk to her, but sad that I wasn't calling her 'mother'. She had a little bit of hope in her heart again. Not much, but enough to get her mane to float a little on its own again.

I rested under a tree on a blanket, reading a book, Dust Bunny was sitting nearby. I kept telling her that she didn't have to, but she insisted on being there for me. Luckily that meant that Cotton Tail would be dropped off after her daycare.

I heard the sound of heavy hoofsteps, but since I didn't smell cake frosting, I knew it wasn't Celestia. I looked over my shoulder and saw Luna approaching.

"Miss Dust Bunny, leave us please." Bunny bowed and left. It was time for her to meet Cotton Tail at the gate anyway. "Christopher, may we talk?"

"Of course, Aunt Luna." I put down my book and slid over on the blanket I was sitting on.

She sat next to me. "I am certain that your decision to stay was not one that you came by easily, but I am happy you did. I have come to grow quite fond of you nephew and would be very saddened to see you leave."

I chuckled, "I love you too, Aunt Luna."

She smiled, "I have come to ask that, maybe you could take it easy on Sister." I shot her a look out of the corner of my eye. "I know what she did was wrong, but you must see it from her side."

"I know, she wanted a child but no longer could have any. Then, out of nowhere, I come along. Alone and with nowhere to go and nopony to care for me, she decided I could be the child she never had and she couldn't bear to lose me. I get it."

"No, in fact, you do not. Celestia had always wanted a family, ever since we were foals and she would cradle a doll Father made for her everywhere she went. After our parents moved on to the next realm, Celestia thought she might finally be able to have that family she so craved since she would need a stallion to be her king. Sadly, every suitor seemed to only be interested in her for her crown and their chance for a piece of that crown. Sadly, before she could find one that loved her for her, I lost control of myself to Nightmare Moon. When Sister banished me, she no longer had the option to create the family she so craved. Her crown weighed too heavily for her to think of herself anymore. Then, the day came where foals were no longer an option. I believe, if it weren't for her taking on occasional apprentices, she very well may have gone insane with loneliness.

I tried to hide the single tear that fell down my cheek. I knew she had hurt, but I never realized it had been that much or for that long. "I knew she wanted a kid of her own, I just didn't realize it was that severe." I looked at Luna's face and caught the tear that was falling from her eye.

"I have never been as eager as Sister for offspring, which is fortunate since my window for such things closed while I was still in exile." I placed an arm around her withers and she leaned her head against mine.

After we had sat there for a while, I came to another decision. "Okay, I'll take it easy on her, but I'm still upset with her. She should have told me years ago that she could have sent me home. I deserved the chance to choose for myself."

"On that, we are in complete agreement."

"Excuse me, Chris," Bunny politely interrupted, "but Princess Celestia has asked for your presence in the throne room."

I stood up from the blanket, after taking my arm back. "Fine, but only if I get to take this little chunk of cuteness with me," I responded as I snatched Cotton Tail from her mother's back. "You're coming with me, Fluffy Butt."

As soon as I entered the door to the throne room, I was ready to leave. Celestia was too quick for me though and had already slammed the doors shut behind me. If it weren't for Twilight, Spike and Cotton Tail being there, I would have had some very choice words for the others present. Those others being the rest of the Elements of Harmony as well as their little sisters.

Upon seeing me, the little foals started to cower behind their sisters. "Relax, I already have a snack," I told them as I held Cotton Tail up with one hand. For her part, Tail played dead while I pretended to take bites out of her. I know it was in poor taste, but I was still a little pissed at them all and felt a little payback was in order. Besides, the look on their faces was priceless.

"Chris, these mares are here to speak with you about what happened two weeks ago," Celestia informed me.

"Alright,… Mother." Once again, Celestia caught the word, though this time, I had meant to say it. Her mane and tail, which she had been forcing magic through in order to keep it floating like normal, began to blow in a nonexistent wind all on its own again. "And what would my little attackers like to discuss today?" I placed Cotton Tail on the floor and she galloped over to Spike to play.

"Well, I don't think there is any need to address us so rudely," Rarity objected.

"Really? So you're saying you all _didn't_attack me unprovoked two weeks ago and put me in the infirmary, granted it was only for one day, but it was still the infirmary." Rarity's ears, as well as the other four guilty parties, folded against their heads.

"Hey, _you_ attacked us," Rainbow Dash tried to offer as a defense.

"Trust me, ladies, if this young colt had really attacked you, none of you would be standing here now." King Gurfon announced as he stormed in through the double doors at the far end of the throne room.

"Uncle Gurfon!" I rushed over and hugged the large griffon.

"Uncle? Princess, are you and… him…?" Rarity began to ask.

"No, we are not involved romantically and never have been," Celestia answered diplomatically. "King Gurfon has been visiting monthly to provide the prince with the meat his body requires. In order to protect my son from harm or panic," she shot a warning glare at the five mare and three scared fillies, "we have kept the true purpose of the king's visits secret. To aide in this endeavor, rumors have been allowed to circulate."

"So ya'll've been keepin' his existence secret fer years? Why? If he's s'posed ta be Prince of Equestria, why not tell everypony?" Applejack asked the very question I've been asking for years.

It was Twilight who answered. "When I brought him here fourteen years ago, nearly everypony who saw him was afraid of him. The fact that Chris is an omnivore doesn't help either." She turned to look at me as Gurfon and I approached. Cotton Tail galloped back to me and I plucked her up from the floor and cradled her in my arms again and tickled her soft tummy. "But look at him. Chris would never hurt anypony if he didn't have to. That's why none of you were hurt in the fight, and believe me, he could have hurt all of you very badly. He's been trained by the best since he was just a little colt."

The white foal unicorn cautiously walked up to me. I looked down at her with one eyebrow raised. "This is our fault," she indicated the other two fillies, "we're really sorry we called you a monster and thought you were gonna eat us." The yellow filly and the orange one also came up and apologized.

"I can't stay mad at such little cuties. You three are forgiven." They all bowed and backed up to their sisters again, clearly not convinced that I wasn't going to hurt them. "Besides, it's you older mares I'm mad at."

Celestia came down from her throne and stood beside myself and Gurfon. "Indeed, you five attacked a sentient creature without provocation or attempt at peace. Even forgetting that it was your own prince you assaulted, there is no excuse. You must be punished." All five lowered their heads in submission. "Prince Christopher, what do you feel would be an adequate punishment for these ladies?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

This morning was a little different than the others before it. Today, I was awoken by not one maid, but rather two. Rarity's week of punishment was to have her assigned as Dust Bunny's partner in her day-to-day duties. I chose this punishment for her because Rarity seemed the best suited for tidiness. Plus, she seemed to be disgusted by my form more than the others. The other four mares had other jobs around the palace, their sisters had sent back to Ponyville as they had only run, not fought.

I had thought about assigning her to Blueblood, but I wouldn't wish Blueblood even on Blueblood. Besides, he had been banned from ever having a female assigned to him again. No, she would have to suffer with my upright posture, extreme height, long limbs and flat face.

"Good morning, Bunny. Good morning, Rarity. I trust the uniform fits you well."

"Morning, Chris."

"Good morning, your highness. Yes, the uniform fits fine, thank you." Rarity was being polite, but I could tell she was not happy. It was pretty obvious.

"Still angry with me?" I got up and headed into the washroom. "Maybe this will stop you from lashing out without thinking next time."

"Indeed." She and Bunny went about to cleaning the room while I showered and prepped for the day. "How can you stand working for that brute?"

*SNAP* "Oh my, I seem to have broken my duster. I'll go get another from the supply closet. Keep working, the prince may not have fur, but he does tend to get dirty often."

After Bunny left, Rarity was left to think to herself. "How does royalty get so messy?" She wondered out loud. She lifted one of my jerkins to look at it before her face showed revulsion. She folded it up and laid it on the bed, "and how can he dress so plainly? Honestly, who made this?"

"My mother," I said as I walked out from the washroom, "she couldn't allow somepony to know my measurements or else risk my exposure, no pun intended."

"Oh, I see. I didn't mean to offend you."

"No, you didn't want to offend Celestia, you don't care about upsetting me." She didn't seem to have an answer or argument. She simply puffed out her cheeks in frustration. "Hey, where's Bunny?"

"Oh, her duster broke and she went to fetch a new one."

"Hmm, alright. Well then, it would seem it's time for breakfast. Let's go, Mother worries when I'm late."

I stepped past her towards the door. After she raised her head and turned to follow, I could hear her gasp softly in surprise. I had a pretty good feeling I knew why. We never could get that crossbow bolt out of the door. It had become something of a trophy.

We had met up with Bunny on the way to the dining hall and continued on together. Twilight was sitting in my normal spot, which was fine by me, she didn't get to see Celestia much and I was still upset with her anyway. Instead, I chose to sit next to Luna. Blueblood was, as always, already there. Blueblood was ignoring me and that suited me fine. Sadly, it wouldn't last.

"Good morning, Chris," Celestia greeted me.

"Good morning, Mother, and also to you Aunt Luna, Twilight. Did you all sleep well?"

"Yes."

"Indeed."

"Yeah."

The doors opened and Gurfon entered and sat next to me. "I see you've got yourself a new attendant, Chris. I just hope she can keep up with Miss Bunny."

"It won't be easy for her, that's for sure, but I think she'll be able to keep up."

The kitchen doors opened and in came Applejack pushing a cart with several covered dishes. She actually looked happy even though we could hear Pinkie laughing up a storm in the kitchen accompanied by the sound of clanging pots and pans along with one very angry chef yelling in Prench.

"Ah, Applejack, how goes working in the kitchens?" Celestia asked.

"Ah'm enjoyin' it, Princess. Ah've always liked cookin' 'n' yur kitchen is top o' thu line." She started to set trays of fritters, dumplings, and pancakes on the table in front of everypony. "Though if Ah'm being perfectly honest, Ah can't say Ah enjoyed all thu preperations." She set a covered dish in front of me and another in front of Grufon. "Ah don't know what thu griffon chef was cookin', but Ah know it didn't smell right."

"Yes, and just wait 'til you get to clean up after the pans used to cook this. A fitting punishment if ever there was one," Gurfon told her with a slight scowl.

I took a big whiff before lifting the lid. "Mmmm… is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it is bacon and a ham and cheese omelet," Gurfon announced, "then yes."

I lifted the lid and practically bathed in the aroma. "You are the best uncle ever." Everypony around the table cringed, Celestia and Luna doing the best at hiding it.

"Blech! Your taste in food is as bad as your taste in help," Blueblood observed from his end of the table.

"Oh? I know you've never liked my necessary diet, but what is your problem with my attendants? Well, aside from the fact that Bunny turned you down."

"Your new, temporary, maid," Blueblood indicated Rarity. "She is most uncouth."

I could hear Rarity practically growl. "Oh wait, is this because of what happened at the Gala last year?" I looked over my shoulder at Rarity, "nice work by the way."

"Yes, a filthy creature for another filthy creature. I hope you enjoy yourself with her."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant. I pointed a threatening finger at him. "You need to watch what you say. Remember what happened the last time you stepped out of line with a mare."

He went tightlipped, but still showed a deep scowl. Applejack and Rarity shared a look of confusion while everyone else who was in the know had a sly grin on the faces. We finished our breakfast over a light conversation. Afterward, I retired to the gardens and told Bunny and Rarity to leave me to my own devices.

Both maids were cleaning my room whilst I was out. "Okay, so granted he stood up for me, but I still don't understand why you are so fond of him."

"Of course you don't. You and your friends prefer to just attack somepony rather than get to know him."

"Now, that's not fair."

"No, what he's had to put up with for the past fourteen years isn't fair. He's been hidden away since he first arrived, granted it was in a palace, but it was to protect him from ponies who would jump to conclusions and lash out in a panic. He doesn't deserve this."

I was sitting under my favorite tree in the gardens, simply enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunlight. Suddenly, a stampede of squirrels, rabbits and other small critters came by with an assorted flock of birds flying past in a panic. A short time later, a pink and butter colored blur ran after begging for them all to stop. It was the Gala all over again. It was just as funny now as it was then.

"You'll never get them to come to you like that, Fluttershy." I had decided that Fluttershy be assigned to taking care of the animals in the gardens since that was her specialty. Also, she wasn't nearly as involved in the beating as the other four.

Upon hearing her name being called, she skidded to a halt and dove into the nearest bush. It was all just so… cute. "It's okay, I promise I won't hurt you." She didn't move from the bush, though I could see light glinting off her eyes. I grinned and let out a long whistle that swept up to an abrupt high pitch at the conclusion. I waited all of one point five seconds for an answer. I held my arm straight out and in a familiar orange and red bird flew down and alighted on my arm.

"Philomena?" Fluttershy's head slowly peaked out from her hiding bush.

"That's right. I heard all about that little trick she played on you back in Ponyville." Fluttershy approached cautiously. "Philly, how's about you give Fluttershy here a helping wing?" Philomena gave me a sideways glance. "Yes, I know you're upset with her and her friends, but she never hurt me. This job is her punishment and she can't do her job without some help. Will you help her?" The phoenix seemed to be pondering this question. Eventually, she nodded and shuffled her feathers. "That's my girl."

Fluttershy was directly in front of me now, she had calmed down a lot my presence seemed to bother her less than it had before. As soon as Fluttershy sat down, Philomena fluttered over and perched on her head, making Fluttershy giggle.

"I, um, w-wanted to thank you."

"Don't mention it. Besides, Philomena's going to be doing all the work."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, I-I mean about before. During the fight."

"Oh? What about the fight?"

"You saved me."

"Huh? Oh, you mean from that exploding gift box of Pinkie's."

She nodded. Not an easy thing to do with such a large bird on one's head. "You got hurt shielding me from the explosion. You didn't have to do that."

"Hmph, yes I did. I was the one who threw the box at you. If it had gone off that close to you, it would have done some serious damage to one of Twilight's best friends and the one and only Element of Kindness. Besides, I didn't get much say in the matter. My body just acted on its own."

"Well, I'd still like to thank you, um, if you'd let me that is."

I chuckled. "Alright, you're welcome, Fluttershy." I stood up from my resting place under the tree. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Gurfon is about to depart and I want to say goodbye."

King Gurfon's departure was not unlike every one prior. His guards still were left outside by his dirigible that was his main mode of transport outside of normal flight range. He said his farewells to everyone in the foyer, we hugged, and he went through the doors to leave for his own empire.

The only thing different this time, was the extra number in my entourage. Well, that and the new window washer. Even this far below her, I could still here Rainbow Dash grumbling away. What better way to punish a speedaholic than to give her a job that requires her to not only stay indoors, but also slow waaaayyy down?

I turned to go back into the palace. Rarity was standing there eyeing the wooden sword I carried.

I tracked her eyes to the sword then looked back at her. "What?"

"I'm sorry for staring, I was just curious about that weapon you're carrying."

"This?" I rested my hand on the hilt. "This is made of wood. It was a gift from Gurfon. I used it to spar with Shining Armor. Now I use it on anypony who steps out of line."

Rarity nodded in understanding, but I saw her mumble something under her breath. I couldn't hear it, but judging by the look on Bunny's face, it wasn't a nice thing.

I began to climb the stairs once again. I was followed by everypony. At the top of the stairs, I stopped and asked Rarity and Bunny to continue on without me. I waited until Celestia caught up with me.

"Mom, can I talk to you, in private?"

"Of course, Honey. Let's go in here." She led the way into a small room off the main hall. "What did you need to talk about?"

"I just wanted you to know, I still haven't forgiven you."

"Oh," Celestia seemed to almost deflate, "I see. Well, if that's all you wanted to say…"

"Wait, that's not it. I haven't forgiven you, but I do still love you." That perked her up a little. "What you did to me was inexcusable. You stole a whole world from me." She couldn't even look me in the eyes right now. "But, you gave me a new one too." Now she looked up at me. "I know now about how badly you wanted a family and how nopony cared about what _you_ really wanted enough to forgo what they wanted. Luna told me about it. Having to spend all those centuries alone while pretending to be happy and content must have been unbearable for you. I understand, but I can't imagine how hard it all must have been."

Celestia sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you, I love you too." She sat back on her haunches. "Also, you're right. What I did to you was inexcusable. I can only hope that one day you will be able to forgive me and we can move on from this. For now, can I simply have a hug?"

"I suppose I can suffer through that."

We both snickered a little before Celestia stood and we wrapped our upper appendages around each other. It wasn't long before she could no longer help herself and nuzzled me too. Her soft fur tickled like it always did and I giggled.

After we separated, Celestia looked at me with a big smile on her face. "Thank you, Chris, this means a lot to me." We were about to leave, when she stopped me at the door. "I want you to know one other thing."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"I have arranged for press conference in three days. I will reveal your existence to all of Equestria at that time. That is, if you still want me to."

"Yes, I do. Thanks."

The rest of the day went smoothly. I even managed to avoid telling Rainbow Dash she missed a spot about fifteen times, though the sixteenth was a little bit different. At this point, three of the five still hated me, one seemed to be warming up to me, and the last one seemed incapable of hating, or even being mad at, anypony for very long.

The only hiccup so far seemed to be that the whole ordeal was driving poor Bunny crazy. I knew she could get defensive of me, but this seemed to be almost too much for her. Hers was the only suffering I wanted to stop.

I came up to my room and heard shouting coming from inside. It was Bunny and Rarity. I quickened my pace. I opened my door just in time to catch a flying feather duster.

"What in Tartarus is going on here?!"

Both mares stopped what they were doing and looked around at the mess they had made. Then they both looked at me with a look of embarrassment.

"Sorry about the room, Chris, but this… _mare_ won't stop talking about you like you're some kind of beast."

"Well I'm sorry, but a stallion who displays a tool of violence like a trophy," She pointed at the crossbow bolt in the door, "can't possibly be all that civilized."

"Hmph, while I _would_ say the honesty is a breath of fresh air, but that just hurt. Bunny, you can go on home now, I'm sure Iron Hammer and Cotton Tail are starting to get worried about you being out so late." She glared at Rarity before wishing me a good night and trotting out.

"Why is she so mad?"

"Because you keep insulting me."

"But why would that make her angry?"

"That's her story to tell, not mine. Now go, you're dismissed for the night. Be back early tomorrow though, you have a lot of cleaning to do. Goodnight."

And so, the first day of punishment had ended.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Before we get started, I just wanted to thank everyone for reading. I also really wanted to thank you all for the likes and the comments. It really mean a lot to me. With that said, enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

After the first day, the girls were all very tired and were sharing Twilight's old quarters. Rainbow's hooves were still wrinkled from holding a wet rag all day long and she never wanted to see a maid's frilly skirt again. Applejack did indeed love to cook, but sharing a kitchen with a screaming Prench chef and dodging a bouncing Pinkie Pie was very tiring, especially when she was made to clean the pans after whatever it was that Chris ate for breakfast, she was exhausted. At least Pinkie was happy, she got to spend all day with one of her best friends in the royal kitchen, she couldn't have been happier. Fluttershy was also quite pleased, thanks to Chris and Philomena, the animals in the gardens had warmed up to her very quickly.

Rarity, by far, was the most miserable. She couldn't understand why she was being punished by being forced to serve the very creature that had started the fight to begin with. _He_was the one who came crashing through the bushes and demanded to be fed. It wasn't their fault that he looked like some crazed monster. Even more, she couldn't understand why so many of the staff loved him so much if he used a wooden sword on them whenever they 'stepped out of line'.

"Yeah, I don't get why everypony likes him either." Rainbow Dash said.

"I don't know, I think he's nice," Fluttershy defended. "He helped me with all the animals in the gardens. I couldn't take care of them otherwise."

"He probably just wanted to make sure they were healthy enough for him to eat," Rarity pointed out.

"Is that whut was in those pans?" Applejack asked. "Ah think, *hurp* Ah'm gonna be sick."

"Yes, bacon and ham. Both are made from… pigs," Rarity informed them. "I have no doubt he's devoured more than his fair share of helpless animals."

"Oh, but lots of animals at my home need to eat meat. Some animals just can't help it," Fluttershy offered as a counterpoint.

"Even so," Rarity was running out of arguments, "I just don't think I can trust anypony so proud of their own destructive works."

Twilight, who had been quietly listening, had finally had enough. "Just stop it. With the exception of Fluttershy, none of you are even giving him a chance. The crossbow bolt in the door isn't my story to tell, but I will tell you it was put there the day after we all met. The wooden sword, which was a gift from King Gurfon, was a training tool used by Chris and Shining while I was being tutored by the princess. When he said he used it on ponies who got out of line, he meant anypony who he caught spreading rumors about Celestia or even mention the name Nightmare Moon. He wants to make sure both Luna and Celestia are happy." Twilight stood from the bed she was laying on. "Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I'm going to see my cousin."

I was reading a book in my bed when I heard a knock at my door. "Enter."

I was a little surprised when the door was opened to reveal Twilight. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, Twi, come in. It's been far too long since we got to just hang out. Though, what, may I ask, brings you here this late at night?"

"I just couldn't stand hearing them talk about you like they were. They just don't want to take the time to get to know the real you and it drives me crazy."

"Says the pony who one year ago didn't want anything to do with other ponies." She rolled her eyes while I snickered. I slid over in the bed to make room, she took the hint and curled up next to me. "Twilight, I know it must be tough on you, trying to stay loyal to both friends and family while they sit on opposite side of the fence. I'm sorry you're being put through this. Please know, I don't blame you for anything and I will not ask you to choose." I reached over to my nightstand and handed her a book that was resting on it.

"Thank you," she levitated the book from my hands and began reading. We lay there in silence, we read 'til we fell asleep. The whole time, I couldn't help but absentmindedly stroke her mane and occasionally scratch behind her ears. It wasn't long before we both drifted into Luna's realm.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" Rarity's shrill scream woke Twilight and I both with a jolt that assured there was no going back to sleep. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO TWILIGHT!?"

"Huh?" It took a second for me to realize what she was talking about. "Oh, nothing. She came in here last night and we read 'til we fell asleep."

"And that required her to be in your bed?"

"What? It's more comfortable than the floor," Twilight pointed out.

"Bu- Wha-" Rarity was stunned into silence, which suited me just fine this early in the morning.

"Rarity, he's my cousin. I've known Chris since he first arrived. He and Shining played together every day. My own parents consider him a member of the family. He would never do anything bad to me."

"Right," I rubbed Twilight's mane. "Twilight, why don't you take the washroom first, I can wait." She thanked me and trotted off to take care of her morning duties. I turned to address Rarity, Bunny was standing quietly behind her trying to kill her with a glare. "I don't care if you think of me as an animal, but don't you dare try to insult my integrity again. I have done nothing untoward to anypony and I will not have such rumors spread. Do I make myself clear?"

Rarity could only look at me with wide eyed terror. She managed to nod. Bunny was watching the whole thing with a smug grin. "Y-yes, your highness."

"Good, now get to work."

After breakfast, which went without a hitch, I went back to my favorite spot in the gardens. While I was gone, Bunny decided to set the record straight.

"You need to give him a chance. All the princesses love him and so does Twilight. Doesn't that mean something to you?"

"I suppose so." Rarity thought to herself for a few seconds. "Will you tell me why you like him so much?"

Bunny let out a deep sigh. "Fine, if it will help you to understand him better. About six years ago…"

I was sitting under my tree, reading. Fluttershy was tending to the animals, which were being far more cooperative, with Philomena riding on her head again. After our discussion the day before, she had gotten far more comfortable around me. Maybe, with some patience and luck, I could have another friend outside the palace.

Suddenly, I got the sense that somepony was sitting beside me. I turned my head and totally didn't scream like a little filly.

"Pinkie?! What the heck are you doing?!" I asked once I calmed down.

"I was kicked out of the kitchen by your chef." She thrusted a cupcake in my face.

I took it from her hoof. "What's this for?"

"Fluttershy says you're a good stallion, this is my way of being sure. How does this cupcake make you feel?"

"O…kay…" I opened my mouth to take a bite but she stopped me.

"No, no, no, no. Not how does it _taste_. How does it make you _feel_?"

I closed my mouth and after a couple seconds of confusion, I took a deep sniff of the baked good. "Mmmmm… smells good. So you want my honest opinion, right, and not just my analysis?" she nodded her head furiously. I swear I heard something rattle in there. I sniffed again. "Honestly, it makes me happy. Mom always smells like cake frosting because of all the cake she eats. Every time I would be sad or scared or crying myself to sleep, she would be there for me. She would wrap me up in those big wings of hers and hold me close to her until I felt better. Every time I smell frosting, it makes me feel a little bit safer and a little happier."

Pinkie surprised me again by hugging me. I even heard her sniff a little. "You _are_ a good stallion. Anypony who likes cupcakes that much can't be all bad. I'm sorry I fought you and I'm _really_ sorry about the party bomb."

"Thank you, Pinkie. Can I eat this now?" I lifted a surprisingly empty hand.

"Eat what?" she asked while licking frosting off her lips. Then we both laughed. Make that two possible friends.

"So what, Pinkie brings you a cupcake and she's forgiven?" Rainbow Dash's scratchy voice called from overhead.

"Not exactly, but it couldn't hurt," I joked. Pinkie thought it was funny, Dash didn't. "I'm not a bad guy, Rainbow, and if you gave me a chance, you might figure that out." She drifted down to the ground with a seriously sour look on her face. "You know what, how about this, I give you and everypony else one chance to get out of this punishment."

"How?"

"A race, pure and simple."

"Ha! Any time, any place, any where. What kind of race did you have in mind?"

"The hedge maze. First one to the other side wins. If I win, you keep washing windows in your pretty little maid outfit. If you win, you'll all be back home by dinner time. I'll even let you all use the royal chariot. What do you think?"

"I don't know. You probably know this maze backwards and forwards."

"And you're the fastest pony in all of Equestria. I'll even let you use Applejack and Rarity too. That way, you'll have three times the chance of picking the right path."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch, just I can't fly or use magic, so neither can you."

She looked at me sideways for a little bit, then came to a conclusion. "Deal!" We shook and she flew off to get her team mates.

"So let meh get this straight, we beat you through this here maze, and we get ta go home?" Applejack asked with some subtle disbelief.

"That's right, first to the other side wins," I told her. "Only no flying and no magic. A nice, level playing field." I walked to the front of the maze. "So, if you agree, then all you have to do is step forward, choose your path, and gallop for the finish."

"Easy," Rainbow said as she approached followed by Applejack. Rarity followed soon after, but she seemed uncertain about something and she kept looking at me.

Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie where all waiting nearby. Pinkie wasn't being allowed to compete because she's too… Pinkie to be considered on a level playing field with anypony.

"Twilight, if you would be so kind."

Twilight began to countdown. We all took our places and got ready to run. As soon as Twilight called 'go', the three mares took off down separate paths through the maze. I didn't.

"Ladies, care to join me?" Casually, I stood and walked _around_ the maze to the other side.

An hour later, Applejack came out the end of the maze, tired and out of breath. "Hey, you made it," I said without even looking. I was in the middle of giving Pinkie a massage. Twilight had already gone first and was sitting on the same bench Pinkie and I were straddling. Fluttershy was next to her, talking quietly with a rabbit, though Philomena had returned to Celestia.

"Huh, …how?" Rainbow came out next, then Rarity.

"How the hay did you beat us?" Rainbow asked as she flopped onto the grass.

"Simple, I never said anything about going _through_ the maze."

"Wha-? Why you little-" Applejack started but was cut off by giggling from overhead.

"Now, Honey, I don't think that's quite playing fair," Celestia said as she landed.

"Maybe, but it was fun. How can I help you, Mom?"

"Mister Fancy Pants and Miss Fleur Dis Lee are here for your fitting. I'm having them make a new suit for you. If I'm going to show you off to the whole world, I want you to look your best."

"Fancy Pants? Fancy Pants is here?" Rarity was clearly shocked.

"Great! It's been too long since I last got to talk to them." I stood up and excused myself before sending the girls back to work.

Rarity and Twilight fell in behind me and Celestia who led us all into the dining hall. There, as previously stated, was Fancy Pants and his wife, Miss Lee.

"Mister Fancy Pants, Miss Lee, I can't thank you both enough for coming on such short notice for this urgent order."

"Think nothing of it, Princess. We consider it an honor to be selected for this order. Especially if it's for our dear friend."

"Friend? You're friends with the prince?" I think that was the first time she called me that.

"Why, Miss Rarity, is that you? I believe we haven't met since your visit some months ago if I recall correctly. Did you get a new job here in the palace, my dear?"

"Well I, uh I-"

"Rarity is here simply to fill in temporarily as a favor. She'll be back in Ponyville soon enough," I told him. "You know, I've been told she's a very talented seamstress. Perhaps she could help you."

"I am familiar with her work. I would welcome her assistance."

"Excellent. Now, how about we get started? I also hope you don't mind some conversation while we do this."

"Of course not, my boy. I've been wanting to ask about your incident in Ponyville and this would be the ideal time."

"Alright, I'll leave you all to it then," Celestia bowed her head and left the room.

"Thanks, Mom, I'll see you later."

Luckily, we were able to get my measurements without me having to remove any clothing. Not that I was embarrassed or anything, but there was two mares in the room. Fancy took my measurements, Fleur took them down and Rarity began to make some preliminary sketches based on modern stallion styles. All the while, we talked about Fancy's business, joked about the skylight incident, and Rarity and Fleur shared some girl talk. Everything was going well, up until the subject of the fight came up.

"So let me get this straight," Fleur said in her elegant and graceful tones, "when you and your friends heard from your younger sisters that a, and I hate to use the word, Chris, but, monster that wanted to eat them. Thus, you all ran off to defend your family and town from a supposed threat."

"Yes, we did." Rarity, for the first time since, seemed to be ashamed of what she did.

"While I can follow your logic, however misguided it may have been, I cannot approve of anypony bringing harm to such a gentlecolt." Fancy Pants and Fleur had done quite an amazing job of being both angry and patient at the same time. "I am quite surprised that your only punishment was to be made to work within the palace. If the princess's protective tendencies toward him that we have seen are anything to go by, you and your friends are lucky to still be breathing free air."

"Yes, Twilight and Miss Dust Bunny have opened my eyes to what a mistake we made," well that caught me by surprise, "but we are still forced to remain within the palace."

"True, but, in the end, _it_ is still a palace," Fleur stated.

"Absolutely, and even being forced to work here as you are, you are still staying in a palace. Poor Christopher here has been trapped within these walls for, how long has it been, Chris?"

"Fourteen years."

"My word, has it really been that long?" Fancy Pants was surprised, as were the two mares in the room.

"Yeah, Celestia was afraid that if I were seen, ponies wouldn't be frightened try to defend themselves."

"Which was exactly what we did," Rarity sighed. "We never even gave you the chance to talk to us. It seems I was the real brute in all this. Prince Chris, I am so very sorry for what I've done to you."

"Thank you, Rarity, and you can just call me Chris if you like."

And that was how I started the foundations of three new friendships.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Because Rarity had finally seen the error of her ways, she was allowed to stop her maid duties in order to work beside Fancy Pants and Fleur. Three unicorns specializing in needlework meant that my suit should definitely be clean by tomorrow. Though, she was required to continue to wear her uniform. After all, she was still being punished and was still restricted to the palace.

That meant that it was just Bunny waking me up in the morning. Well, Bunny and Cotton Tail. It was the weekend and the daycare was closed. It wasn't a common thing but Bunny was brought her along on occasion before, so I was kind of used to it. Besides, that little uniform she wore so she could be just like her mommy was too cute.

"Wake up!" Cotton Tail yelled while bouncing on my back as I tried to sleep. "Ya need ta wake up now!"

"Unnhh… I am royalty ya know."

"Be that as it may, _your highness_," Bunny stated, only with a slight hint of sarcasm, "you still need to wake up for breakfast."

"Fine, but if Fluffy Butt doesn't stop bouncing on my back, I may just have _her_ for breakfast."

"Alright, come on Cotton, stop bouncing on the prince."

Cotton Tail was lifted off my back by her mother's beige magic. "Awww…" Bunny and I laughed at her tiny protest. I begrudgingly got up and went into the washroom. Once that was completed, it was time for breakfast. Cotton Tail stood on my shoulders with her forelegs on my head all the way there.

Once I was seated, Applejack and Pinkie began to serve us. Today it was biscuits, fruit slices and grits for me. I know grits may not seem all that exciting, but with somepony like Applejack cooking them, they were. I took an apple slice off my plate and fed it to my hat, which everypony was ignoring.

Suddenly, there was the sound of crystal smashing from the other end of the table. "Watch what you're doing, you clumsy oaf!"

"Ah'm sorry, your highness, it wus uh accident," Applejack tried to defend herself.

"Your 'sorry's won't clean my fur. I swear you are useless, you bumpkin. You and your who-oof"

I was now standing over the prone figure of Blueblood with both fists clenched. I pointed a threatening finger at him, "I warned you to watch your mouth around females! Now get up, wipe your face and apologize to her!"

Blueblood got shakily to his hooves. He glared daggers at me but eventually took a napkin off the table and wiped the blood from his lip. "Make me, monster."

"As you wish." I grabbed his mane and started to drag him out the doors. Him being on his back, legs flailing, he was powerless to stop me. "Ladies, I'm sorry about this, but it seems to be the only way he'll learn."

"Gaurds! Stop him! Your prince demands it!" Blueblood begged but the guards never moved.

"Once again, you forget who outranks whom."

The door closed behind us, leaving only the sounds of Blueblood demanding help from the guards as evidence that we were still there. Applejack stared at the door in disbelief. She was even more confused when she turned and saw that all the others had gone back to eating their breakfast, Cotton was enjoying mine at the time.

"Uh… am Ah thu only one that saw that?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, those two have always been like that." Celestia said with a dismissive wave of a hoof. "Though, if it weren't for Twilight's brother and Chris' immunity to magic, then I fear my nephew would have made his life an absolute terror."

"Ah, Ah had no idea." Applejack was shocked. "It's hard ta believe he didn't turn out cruel or hateful."

"Yes, it was always a concern of mine. I am immeasurably grateful he is as gentle as he is," Celestia said with no hint of sarcasm or falsehood.

"Princess Celestia has had Chris trained by the best in the Guard, King Gurfon has taken time to teach him close quarters combat and Shining has sparred with him daily. With all the training he's gone through, the only ponies in Equestria who could take him now are the princesses and myself. We're the only ones with enough magic to affect him."

"Yes and we would never allow harm to come to our dear nephew," Luna stated plainly.

"Then how were we able ta beat 'im?" Applejack asked.

"Because he didn't _really_ fight you," Bunny said with disdain. Applejack was confused again. "Think about it, did he attack you, or did he just try to get you away from him?"

Applejack thought about it sincerely. She realized they were right. Chris had pushed her away when she charged him, he didn't hit her. When Rainbow dove at him, he caught her and threw her up into the air, he could have just as easily threw her into a tree or the ground. Even the rocks Rarity threw at him, after he caught them, he threw them to the ground instead of at them. She was starting to feel incredibly guilty.

"Wow, do Ah feel rotten. It was jest that, when Meh sister 'n' her friends came runnin' in frum thu woods hollerin' 'bout some monster tryin' ta eat 'em…"

"But Chris'd never hurt a filly!" Cotton Tail shouted.

"That's right, he's known Cotton all her life, he absolutely adores her and she loves him. Though that just makes it all the more sad that-"

The sound of Celestia clearing her throat made Bunny stop talking. "Miss Bunny, while I appreciate your support, there are some things that should be kept in the family. No offense meant to Applejack, of course."

"Um, none taken, Princess." Applejack turned from Celestia back to the doorway that the two princes went through only moments before. "Ah understand."

I came walking through the door, Blueblood in front of me. His normally pristine white fur was now knotted in places where I had given him friction burns and lumps were starting to form in others. "Alright, what do you have to say to the nice mare?" Blueblood grumbled something under his breath, so I kicked him in the flank. "Say it right!"

"Ugh, Miss Applejack, I apologize for my previous outburst. My behavior was inappropriate for a member of the royal family. Please forgive me." He glared daggers at me after he finished.

"Uhh… Ah… forgive ya?" Applejack said. Her eyes kept darting from me to him.

"Good, now that that's settled, I can… aww~, Fluffy Butt~, my breakfast."

After breakfast, I went out to the gardens with Cotton Tail. Her mother had a lot of work to do and didn't need her getting in the way, though Bunny would never say that to her. Philomena came with us too.

Cotton and I were resting under my tree, her in my lap and Philomena on a branch above us, while I read from a book of Equestrian fairy tales. Cotton enjoyed it when I read to her and I just liked spending time with the little filly.

After about an hour, Cotton was pretty close to falling asleep and Philomena was occupying herself with preening herself (I had helped Celestia with that very same chore in the past when she was particularly stressed. It always calmed her down. I will say this, all you pegasi out there should be happy your wings aren't as big as hers).

"Um, yer highness?"

"I turned and saw Applejack approaching my tree, "you know, I've never really liked all that pomp and circumstance, you and your friends can just call me Chris. Well, you can once I get an apology," I said the last part with a smirk to let her know I wasn't completely serious.

"Uh, 'bout that, 'fore Ah do say anything, Ah want to know… why'd ya stand up fer meh back there?"

"Hmm, well, there are multiple reasons. One, being royal means we serve the citizenry, not the other way around, and every time one of us forget that, it reflects badly on the rest of the family. Two, you, your family and families like yours work very hard and our nation couldn't function without your dedication. Three, it's always fun to knock a bully down a peg or two."

"But, you're not one uh us, why does it matter ta ya?"

I thought about what I wanted to say for a minute. "Hey, Fluffy Butt, why don't you go see it Fluttershy needs help with anything?"

"Aww, but I want to stay here with you?"

"I know, but I need a few minutes with Applejack, so please."

"Okay… but I'm comin' back."

"Good, thank you." After she had bounced out of view, calling for Fluttershy the whole way. "How much do you know about how I came here?"

She shook her head, "not much. Practicly nothin'."

"Twilight brought me here fourteen years ago."

"W-whu? Twi brought ya here? But… how? Why?"

"It was an accident, and please don't tell her I told you. She blames herself for it every day and I don't want her to feel worse than she already does. It was an accident and she was just a filly."

"Wait, you said she brought ya here, frum where exactly?"

"Another dimension, one where humans, like me, are the dominant species and the closest thing to talking animals we have were parrots, I don't even think magic existed there. I was only six years old then, so I can't be sure. From the moment I got here, Celestia, quite literally, took me under her wing and took care of me. She has always been there for me and protected me. Luna and Cadence have treated me like one of their own kin also. So, you can understand why I won't stand for anypony doing anything to sully their good names."

"Then, if you like it here so much, why did ya come ta Ponyville?"

"That… is a good question. Celestia protected me by keeping me here," I pointed to the ground with both fingers. "You've been confined here for three days, imagine not being allowed to leave the grounds unsupervised for your whole life." She nodded slowly, trying to imagine what that would have to be like. "I would get stir crazy and sneak out from time to time, hence to legends of 'Bighoof' and 'the Monster of Canterlot'. Three days before our fight, I had a blow out with Celestia and ran away. That's also why I said I was hungry when I came across your sister."

"So ya really weren't gonna hurt Apple Bloom 'n' her friends at all, were ya?"

"Of course not. I would never hurt a foal."

"I told you he was a good stallion," Fluttershy said as she approached, Cotton Tail galloping past her and slamming into my chest for a hug. I happily squeezed the little filly.

" 'N' you were right, Shy. Chris, Ah'm sorry Ah didn't gave ya'll uh chance. Can ya forgive meh?"

"Yes, I can. Thank you, Applejack."

After that, she went back inside with Fluttershy. I returned to my relaxation, Cotton Tail was lying across my chest and Phily was tucked up on top of her. It was peaceful and I was enjoying the quiet. 'Was' being the operative word.

A very boisterous pegasus touched down next to me, I tried to ignore her. "You may have all the others fooled, but not me."

"I can't hear you, I'm asleep."

"Yeah, sleeping," Cotton agreed. Philomena gave a very convincing snore as her own evidence.

It only made her angrier. "Stop it. That's not funny."

"It's a little funny," I opened one eye and looked up at her.

"Is this all just a game to you? Is that why you had me wear this stupid outfit?" 

"Hey! My mommy wears a uniform just like that. She's always proud to get to wear it."

"It's alright, Cotton. She's just upset." I lifted her up and gently set her down on the ground. "How about you go and find your mommy? Rainbow Dash and I need to talk." A little filly storming off in a huff doesn't exactly have the desired effect, but she _did_ leave. I stood up, "alright, Rainbow, let's do this."

"Do what?" She looked very skeptical.

"You clearly want to fight me, so let's go."

"No way! You'll probably just call the guards and have me thrown in prison or something."

"No guards, no prison, no consequences, and no holds barred. I'll even let you go home if you can knock me down just once. How 'bout it?"

"Yeah, just like the hedge maze thing, right?"

"No, no tricks. We fight, plain and simple."

"Alright, I'm in."

"Good, let's go over here where we won't damage anything."

Rainbow had started the fight in the most predictable of ways. She had gone high and dive bombed me. It ended the same way as before, with her being flung straight up into the air. The difference this time was that she got the attention of Celestia much faster.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Storm clouds began manifesting on their own again.

"Princess! I-I-I-I-"

"It's okay, Mom. This was my idea."

The clouds vanished instantly and Celestia calmly landed near me. "Oh, okay then. Continue." Out of nowhere, a blanket and some cushions popped out of thin air and she laid down to watch the show. "Just pretend I'm not even here."

"Uh, I don't really think I-" Rainbow was interrupted by a small rock bouncing off her head. "Hey!"

"Don't worry about her, this is between you and me."

Rainbow growled and charged at me again, I deflected her the same way.

"You're going to have to try something else, Rainbow Dash. Gurfon, trained him against aerial attacks. Maybe you should try a ground assault."

Rainbow gave Celestia a very confused look. She couldn't figure out why Celestia was helping her fight her own son. She landed and took a defensive stance. I stood up straight and, with a single outstretched hand, I beckoned her forward. She galloped straight at me. Just as I had down with Applejack, I sidestepped and pushed her sideways.

Rainbow corrected her stumble. She turned around and glared at me again. I drew my wooden sword and tossed it to her, hilt first. Rainbow only looked back and forth from me to it.

"I suggest you pick it up. Chris has been trained by the some pony who trained my own guards. You'll need any advantage you can get."

Rainbow picked up the wooden blade in her mouth, giving it a few test swings. Satisfied, she charged at me again. She swung the blade back in preparation for a strong downward strike. She wasn't expecting me to step forward, inside the strike zone. I had gotten too close for the sword to be effective and simply allowed it to make contact. There was a minor sting from the hit, but I trapped the blade against my side, spun and ripped it from her mouth. I then grabbed the hilt, continued my spin and held the blade to her neck.

"Do you understand now?" I asked her.

"Understand what? That you just wanted to show me up again?"

"No, Rainbow, he's showing you that he never wanted to hurt you or anypony else. Chris' body is designed to do some serious damage to others but he holds himself back so that he doesn't. He is no monster."

"Aww… thanks, Mom." Celestia giggled. I sheathed the sword and offered an empty hand to Rainbow, "can we just start over?"

Rainbow grumbled a little, but she did eventually place her hoof in my hand and we shook. "Fine, but this doesn't mean we're friends."

"I think I can deal with that," I told her.

"Good. Now that that's settled, it's time for lunch. After that, I want you to get ready for tomorrow, young colt. After all, it's not every day a new prince gets introduced to the nation."

"Yes, Mother."

And that made five.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

This was it. The big day. The day I would finally be revealed to my little ponies, as Celestia is so fond of saying. I was very, very excited, and also so very scared.

I couldn't help but wonder, what if Celestia was right all along? What would I do if there was panic? Would they accept me? Would they be willing to have a non-pony be their prince? If they decided to attack, would I survive?

All these questions and concerns kept me up for much of the night, even with Luna's attempts to help calm my dreams. I'll give her credit for her attempt too. It takes a lot of magic to have any effect on me in a normal incident, dreamwalking in my head nearly exhausted her magic reserves. It was just one more reason why I loved my family, they made it very clear that they loved me. Maybe Equestria would too.

I was sitting on the edge of my bed, watching the sunrise, when my door opened and in walked two mares in maid uniforms. Both were surprised to see me up already.

"Chris, you're awake already?" Bunny asked.

"Hey, yeah. Had trouble sleeping, even with Aunt Luna's help."

"Your nerves bothering you, Dear?" Rarity walked up and placed a hoof on my shoulder.

"Yeah. Silly, I know. I've wanted to be able to walk out that gate without and escort or disguise for over a decade. Now, that the time is here, I'm worried about how the populace will react. I mean, with the exception of Mom and Fancy Pants, everypony who's met me has responded with fear and occasionally anger. How will several hundred ponies act?"

"I want to say everything will be fine, but nopony can say that with any certainty. What I will tell you though, is that no matter what anypony else says, you have others that love you and want you here. I don't think Iron and I would have made it without you and we probably wouldn't even have Cotton now if it weren't for your help." Bunny hopped up onto the bed next to me.

I smiled a little, "thanks, Bunny, that means a lot to me." I reached an arm around her withers and hugged her tight. "Rarity, in light of today's events, I hereby release you and your friends from your sentence. You are free to go… or stay, or whatever you want. However, I would consider it a favor if you all stayed… for moral support."

"Wow, you really are worried if you want Pinkie Pie's help," Rarity snarked, "but if it will make you feel better, than I shall be there. Even if for no other reason than to ensure the suit Fancy Pants and I made for you remains undamaged. Speaking of which, I brought it with me for you to try on and allow for any last minute alterations."

"Excellent!"

"Indeed it is, but I won't let you put on this beautiful new suit while you're all sweaty. Now, get cleaned up while I bring it in for you."

"Alright, thank you, Rarity."

I showered, shaved and brushed my teeth. When I came back out of the washroom, Rarity had shed her maid uniform and set up my new suit on a rolling clothes rack. It looked amazing. A three piece suit with a classic black jacket and matching pants with a blue stripe down the outside, silver and blue vest, white shirt and royal blue tie with Celestia's and Luna's cutie marks in a checkerboard pattern.

"Wow, Rarity, it's amazing. You and Fancy Pants do work well together."

"Thank you, Darling, but you still have to try it on before we can call it a success."

"Fair enough, but may I please have some privacy?"

"But I need to make sure it fits properly. I don't really see the ne-"

"Yes, your highness," Bunny said as she magically grasped Rarity's tail and dragged her out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Well, that was quite rude."

I know and I'm sorry, but there is a reason he asked for privacy."

"Oh?"

"You see, his… anatomy is a little more… exposed than ours and believe me, that was one awkward morning that I don't wish to repeat."

"Oh, I uh, I see."

"I certainly hope you don't," I teased when I opened the door, "that would mean you messed up the design quite a bit." In fact, no mistakes were made anywhere on the suit, it fit perfectly. I only hoped the press conference would go as well.

"MY LITTLE PONIES," it always amazed me that Celestia could make the Royal Canterlot Voice seem motherly and reassuring. When Luna used it, she sounded terrifying. She continued, "I THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING HERE TODAY ON SUCH SHORT NOTICE!"

It was noon, and I was sweating like mad off stage. Celestia was at a lectern in the center of the stage set up just outside the main entrance of the castle. Luna, Cadence, Shining and Twilight were all seated behind her on cushions. Waiting with me was the five mares who, until recently, were 'imprisoned' in the palace, Dust Bunny and her family, and Blueblood. During breakfast, they had all been there and offered their support, Blueblood was just silent, which was good enough for me.

"I'M SURE YOU ARE ALL WONDERING JUST WHY I CALLED FOR THIS PRESS CONFERENCE, BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU, IT IS FOR A GOOD CAUSE!" There was some murmuring and the snapping of many pictures amongst the gathered crowd as ponies wondered, theorized and gossiped. When the chatter died down, Celestia addressed them again, "I HAVE CALLED YOU ALL HERE BECAUSE I HAVE MOST WONDEROUS NEWS FOR YOU ALL, I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH A SON!"

The courtyard erupted in cheers and hoorahs. It was very lifting and heartwarming. The citizens really did love her, and as one of the ones who loved her most, I was very happy to finally see with my own eyes.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!" I could _just_ make out a single tear rolling down her cheek. "HE HAS BROUGHT ME MUCH PRIDE AND HAPPINESS AND I HOPE YOU ALL WILL ACCEPT AND COME TO LOVE HIM AS EVERYPONY ON THIS STAGE WITH ME HAS!" More cheering came from the crowd. "THOUGH I MUST CONFESS SOMETHING TO YOU ALL, I HAVE BEEN HIDING HIM FROM THE WORLD!" Absolute silence fell. "I HAVE HIDDEN HIM, NOT BECAUSE I WAS EMBARRASSED OR ASHAMED, BUT… BECAUSE I WAS SCARED! YOU SEE, MY LITTLE PONIES, HE IS NOT A PONY! IN FACT, HE IS NOT OF ANY SPECIES KNOWN TO EQUESTRIA!" Now _that_ got them all talking. "HE IS, IN FACT, OF A SPECIES KNOWN AS HUMAN AND IS THE ONLY ONE OF HIS KIND HERE, SO, PLEASE, WELCOME HIM INTO YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS!" She turned and looked directly at me and smiled, which I took as my cue. "SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE HE IS, MY SON, PRINCE CHRISTOPHER SOL!"

I took a deep breath and looked around at the ponies around me. They were all looking up at me and smiling, even Blueblood, which in hindsight, I should have been concerned about. I stepped out from behind the curtains and tried to ignore the shocked gasps of over a hundred ponies at once. I put on my best smile and walked forward.

So far, things were going… okay. The ponies were stunned, clearly, but nopony was panicking or screaming. Well, they weren't at first. As I was walking out on stage, a wrinkle suddenly appeared in the carpet, as if by magic. I tripped over the wrinkle and stumbled with my hands out to catch me. Unfortunately, this made it look like I was attacking the ponies in the crowd.

I caught my stumble, but the damage had been done. Mares and stallions near the stage were cringing and shaking. Then, somepony screamed out, "the monster's going to eat us all!" and all Tartarus broke loose.

Mothers scooped up their foals. Stallions stood between me and their families. Ponies of all types were galloping around and trying to reach the exits. Guards were doing what they could to keep anypony from being hurt or trampled. It was as if my nightmare had just come true.

I felt the energy leave my body. My legs gave out and I collapsed to my knees, my world crumbling around me. Then, on the edge of my horror, I heard hooves approaching on either side of me. A lot of hooves.

All four princesses were standing beside me, Luna and Celestia n the inside. I felt a familiar wing wrap around my shoulders. I looked up to see Celestia, and she was pissed. Her horn, as well as all the other alicorns', was glowing furiously.

As if with one voice, all four of them yelled "STOP!" An immobilizing spell was cast over the entire crowd, guards included. Celestia walked to the front of the stage.

"SHAME, SHAME ON YOU ALL! I COME TO YOU WITH WONDEROUS NEWS AND SHARE MY SON WITH YOU AND YOU ALL TREAT HIM AS A-A-A… MONSTER! THIS CONFERENCE IS OVER! GO HOME TO YOUR FAMILIES SO I MAY RETURN TO MINE!"

The spell was released and a wave of relieved sighs went out amongst the gathered ponies. Celestia stood beside me and allowed me to pull myself up by her withers. We all turned to go back inside, I was struggling to fight back the tears.

"What is wrong with all of you!?" Rarity's voice called from behind me. "So he's not a pony, so what! The Prince is a kind and gentle stallion who would never hurt anypony let alone eat them! Frankly, I'm ashamed of you all and pity anypony who is unwilling to give him a chance!"

I stared at her, shocked and stunned into silence. The other four mares from Ponyville coming to her side and voiced their agreement. Cotton Tail galloped straight for me and leapt into my arms. I squeezed her tight to my chest and nuzzled her. Her parents trotted up to me, too, but didn't leap at me. Cotton squirmed from my grip and climbed up onto my shoulders.

"You're all a buncha meanies!" Cotton yelled at the crowd. Then then hugged my head, not held on so as to not fall, but actually hugged my head. It was quite possibly the cutest thing she's ever done.

We began to walk again. Our group of fourteen gained four more when Twilight's parents, Fancy Pants and Fleur Dee Lis all jumped up on stage and joined us. With Cotton still on my shoulder, I walked back in with, literally, all the ponies in the world who cared about me.

"Well, Mom, it looks like you were right," we were all in the throne room and the atmosphere was very low. Even Pinkie Pie was quiet, "I never should have left the building. I won't be making that mistake again."

Celestia put down the cake she was angrily devouring and wrapped her wings tightly around me. As she nuzzled me, she told me, "don't think about them, Honey, they don't know what they're missing out on. I'm only sorry my own ponies acted so-so-so-… thick headed."

"It's not your fault, Mom." I hugged her close before we let go of each other.

I flopped down onto the Celestia's throne and ran my hand through the one of the water pools. I had never felt so defeated. Cotton Tail climbed up in my lap and snuggled against my chest, that little filly always knew how to cheer me up, and I held her like a teddy bear. Right now, I just wanted my world to be smaller. About the size of the throne room would be good.

A guardspony approached the throne, he looked like he really didn't want to be doing this right now. "Your highness, there are some ponies outside who wish to speak with you."

"I HAVE NOTHING I WANT TO SAY TO ANYPONY OUSIDE THIS ROOM! DID YOU MISUNDERSTAND MY ORDERS OR DID YOU SIMPLY CHOOSE TO IGNORE ME!?" Celestia seemed to be trying to kill the guard, and whoever was on the other side of the massive doors, with her voice alone.

"A-a-ap-pologies, P-P-Princess-ss, b-b-b-but it-it-it's n-not _y-you_ they w-w-w-wish to see," I swear, if this poor guy wasn't so well trained for high-stress situations, he would had to fetch a maid to clean the floor too, "th-they wish t-t-to see the pr-prince."

All eyes were suddenly on me. "I'll leave the choice to you, Sweetheart," Celestia said.

"How many ponies are there?"

"Around a dozen, your majesty."

"Fine, send them in."

The guard bowed and galloped off as fast as he possibly could. I didn't need to see his face to tell how relieved he was to be able to go anywhere else but near four of the most powerful creatures on the planet who were as angry as anypony had ever seen a pony be. In fact, he was galloping so fast, he slammed into the door before it could be opened.

When it finally was opened, there was indeed a dozen ponies waiting to enter. I even recognized one of them as Mayor Scribble. Yes, Canterlot has a mayor. Celestia and Luna can't worry about day-to-day minutia of a city _and_ the bigger problems of an entire country, plus the safety of the whole planet. They would never be able to get any sleep.

Scribble was doing his best to remain calm, and doing a convincing job of being placid. Not an easy thing to do under the circumstances, those being Luna and Celestia standing beside me, Twilight, Shining and Cadance directly in front of me and all the others lined up before them. Cotton was still in my arms.

"Prince Christopher, these ponies and myself wish to apologize for our actions. We were out of line and would like to try this whole thing again."

I stepped forward, weaving through the ponies who had placed themselves before me as a living shield. As I passed Iron Hammer, I placed his daughter on his back. I had a feeling, whatever would come of this would be the best I could hope for.

"If you think you can stand being in the same room as a monster," I snarked, "then I would very much like the opportunity to speak with you all."

We all sat and talked for well over an hour, except for Fancy Pants and Fleur since they couldn't leave their store closed all day. I explained as much as I could about my species and mentally complemented him on how well he handled the whole omnivorous thing, the other eleven ponies all cringed, be it ever so slightly. He told me about his family and about his political career. On a normal day, with normal ponies involved in the dialogue, this would have been an insanely boring, but I was a one of a kind creature and he was the first political figure outside the family that I got to speak with. The others were still a little too nervous for conversation, but I did get a chance to speak to them. All in all, I considered it a success. He even agreed to run damage control with the press over this morning.

I walked up to the guards outside Blueblood's chambers. It was very late at night and only the guards, Luna and a few key staff members needed for the orderly running of the palace were still awake.

"Hey, guys, why don't you head down to the kitchen and get something to eat. I think there are still a couple of Pinkie's cupcakes left over." They looked at each other and grinned, they knew what was coming. "Just remember, you never saw me. In fact, I order you to, if asked, say that you were here all night and you don't know how I got in."

"Yessir." They both trotted off, speculating as to just what I had planned.

Once they were gone, I took out the hair remover I snuck from the infirmary and the dye from the salon and snuck inside the room. I was going to enjoy this.

After fifteen minutes, I was done. There were lovely designs and notes scribbled in his fur and a lovely shade of green in his mane, brown streaks in his tail. With a satisfied smile on my face, I left a note on the mirror in his washroom. It read:

Blueblood,

Next time, try disguising your voice.

Love,

Chris

And that was how I was introduced to the world.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

At breakfast, all the element bearers, all the princesses and Shining Armor were enjoying their meal. I even made it down there early. In part, because I wanted to see Twilight's friends before they left for Ponyville, but mainly for the show. We were enjoying our conversation and meal, courtesy of Applejack and Pinkie one last time, when a bloodcurdling scream pierced the palace halls. I couldn't hide the smile stretching across my face.

"Whut thu hay was that?" Applejack asked.

"I have no idea," I fibbed.

The double doors slammed open and revealed just about the funniest looking royal I've ever seen. Also, the third angriest. He stood there, glaring and breathing heavily. One word fit the situation perfectly, 'seething', he was seething.

His mane was far from its normal, well-groomed luxuriousness. Also, the 'vomit' color was a nice touch. The brown streaks in the tail made him look incontinent and the hairless patches shaped like hearts, stars and rainbows made him look like some foals drawing board. I thought about some more obscene images, but other ponies would have to see him, including my mother.

"Why cousin," I mocked a shocked expression, "what happened to you?"

"You!" he growled. "You did this to me!"

"Why would you think Chris did anything to you?" Celestia asked, barely stifling her laughter, though I think I heard a tiny snort emanate from her.

Blueblood froze, he couldn't expose me without exposing himself. I just sat there and smirked at him. All the mares around me where giggling and it was growing louder. It wasn't long, however, before somepony couldn't hold back anymore. Bunny burst out into wild guffaws at the appearance os her most hated 'superior'.

"Stop laughing, you peasant!" he yelled at her.

"Don't you dare yell at her!" I stood between them, knowing full well that he wouldn't try to get to her through me. He may be mad at me, but he wasn't stupid. I felt a hoof on my arm, it was Bunny's.

"It's alright, Chris, he's just angry."

"Fine, but I still don't like anypony being mean to my friends."

"And it makes me proud that you would defend your friends so readily," Celestia told me, "but I do wish you and your cousin would get along better."

"I know that, Mom, and I'm sorry, but I don't think it will ever happen."

"For once, we are in agreement." Blueblood was glaring daggers at me.

Celestia sighed, she knew it wasn't going to happen. "Fine, but can you at least act civil toward each other?"

"I'll try, Mom, but I can't promise he won't do something to deserve a lesson in the future." Blueblood was just growling now.

"I suppose that's the best I can hope for." Celestia tried to move the conversation on from to something more pleasant. "Well then, Chris, now that you have been introduced to the public, what do you plan to do next?"

"Well, I figured I'd travel a little. Really see what Equestria has to offer."

"Alright, I suppose I can arrange some time away to…"

"No, Mom, I want to see it for myself." The other ponies looked surprised, Blueblood looked very happy, like I cared, but Celestia just seemed hurt. "Don't get me wrong, I loved our trips as a kid, but I feel I should do this myself this time. I figure that, maybe if I meet ponies in smaller groups and without a platoon of guards around, then maybe they won't be so… startled by me."

"I see," she still looked hurt. "Where do you plan to go and for how long?"

"Don't worry, I'm only planning on going to Ponyville and for just a couple days. You can literally see the town from your private balcony. Hay, with your power, you probably even spot me from here."

"No need ta worry, Princess, we'll all keep 'im outa trouble," Applejack reassured her.

"That's right," Twilight added, "he can stay with me in the library and one of us can be with him whenever he's walking around town. Everything should be fine."

The fact that somepony like Twilight, who tends to panic when things aren't planned out ahead of time, thought things would go alright seemed to put Celestia at ease. Or at least calmed her a little. After all, if she couldn't trust her favored student, who could she trust?

"Very well, just please be careful."

"I will be, Mom, I promise."

After breakfast, Bunny helped me pack. She had offered to accompany me, but I insisted she stay and gave her the week off, with pay of course. While I may have been pampered since I arrived in Equestria, I never got used to it. Besides, if I know Twilight, she's got Spike doing all that work already.

While I was packing, Twilight's friends were shopping. Twilight herself was telling all about the ponies she's met in Ponyville and how excited she was to introduce me to them. I was also excited. I had seen the town a thousand times from the palace, but now I was finally goin to be able to see it firsthoof.

It wasn't long before it was time to go and meet Twilight's friends at the train station. Celestia had insisted I take the royal carriage, saying that it would simply make her feel better knowing that I at least got to the train safely. I had argued that nopony was dumb enough to try anything with Twilight. She cheated to win the argument.

"Please, Honey, for me?"

It was a dirty trick that some mothers like to use. There was simply no way I could say no to her after that. I will never understand how she was able to do that to me and still sleep at night. Either way, she and Luna were there to see me and Twilight off. They were joined by Bunny, Iron Hammer, Cadence and Shining Armor, Cotton was still in school. It did take some time, and prying, to get Celestia to stop hugging, kissing and telling me how much she loved me long enough to make a break for the carriage.

I wish I could say that there was some adventure or even a small crowd of onlookers, but the ride to the station was a quiet one with no excitement. There were some hushed conversations and bowing from the ponies along the road. Luckily, there were no screams, shouts or panicking hordes. All in all, it was a nice ride.

Even boarding the train was peaceful. We had gotten our own car. It wasn't the royal car, but it did have nice big windows and soft benches, so I was happy. It also meant that we, I, wouldn't be gawked at by nervous ponies. Being in a small space was bad enough, but throw in two members of royalty and make one of them a completely unfamiliar species that's twice as tall as the average pony, bad could go to worse very quickly.

I was staring out the window, enjoying the view. The last time I went through these woods, I was running and hiding. I hadn't gotten a chance to enjoy them. Even though the scenery was whipping by, it was still a thrill.

"…Chris?!" Twilight's voice pulled me out of my hypnosis.

"Huh, wha?"

"While I always enjoyed your ear rubs, we were trying to have a conversation.'

Apparently, Twilight and her friends had been trying to talk to me, but because I was so enthralled with the view that I didn't hear them. Then, when Twilight tried to nudge me, I had started to rub behind her ears. It was something I did often throughout our years together and it just came naturally.

I took my hand away from her head, "sorry about that. What did you want to talk about?"

"That's okay, we were all just wondering how you were feeling."

"Oh, and if I can get in on some of that action?" Pinkie hopped up in my lap which made me giggle before I started to rub behind her ears. She cooed and her tongue lulled out of the side of her mouth.

"I'm a little nervous, but still very excited. I mean, I've seen a lot of the countryside from the air, but a riding train certainly gives a different view than riding on Mom's back." All eyes were suddenly on me, except for Pinkie's, which were still closed, and Twilight who had heard all about it before.

"Wait," Rainbow interrupted, "you've ridden Princess Celestia?"

"What? She's my mother. You make it sound like a big deal."

"Well," Rarity spoke up, "in all of recorded history, there has never been any documented cases of anypony actually riding on the princess' back. So you can understand our surprise."

"I guess that would make sense. Though, on that same note, is it really so strange for a child to ride on their parent's back? I mean, even humans do it."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked, she was excited about the chance to learn about a new species. "I'd love to learn more about humans. What's the social structure like? How many foals can a human female bear? Are human foals super cute?"

She kept spitting out questions one after the other. I didn't even get a chance to answer, not that I could. All the while, the image of my real mother screaming my name and trying her best to reach me as Twilight's magic enveloped me. No matter how long I live, I will never be able to get that image out of my mind. Twilight herself was swiping her hoof across her throat in a 'stop talking' motion.

"To tell you the truth, Fluttershy, I don't know much about humans. I was only six when I came here and my last memory was not a pleasant one." I could see Twilight cringe out of the corner of my eye. I pulled her close and whispered, "it's okay, Twilight, it wasn't your fault." She nodded and gave me a small smile.

"Oh, I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"I know, and it's alright. You couldn't have known, Fluttershy." I reached over and tussled her mane in an attempt to show her everything was fine. "Besides, it was a long time ago. Also, I haven't exactly had a rough life." It didn't seem to make her feel better, which only made me feel worse.

I moved Pinkie to the side and slid off my seat onto my knees in front of Fluttershy. I then cupped her head in my hands and made her look into my eyes. "Listen, it's o-kay. I'm not angry, upset or sad. You couldn't have known it was a… touchy subject. So please, don't worry about it, don't blame yourself, and give me a smile."

The corners of her mouth pulled back a little, "o-okay."

"Atta girl." I climbed back up in my seat and Pinkie immediately reclaimed my lap and I resumed rubbing her ears. "By the way, how much further is it to Ponyville? I'm starting to get antsy."

Just as I finished asking, we came around a bend in the track. The town was completely visible out the window of the car. It was different than the view from my balcony. It's true that a bird's eye view is unparalleled, but so is the view from the ground. Besides, from the air, I wouldn't have been able to read the welcome banner… wait, what?

The train pulled into the station and, as we disembarked, we were greeted by the sound of a, to be perfectly blunt, poorly organized band. There was a decent sized crowd of ponies, a lot of them seemed nervous, others were just barely putting on a brave face. A tan mare with a silver mane and tail and gold rimmed glasses approached us and bowed before me.

"Greetings, your highness, my name is Mayor Mare and please allow me to welcome you to Ponyville." I thought she was going to rise again, but she remained glued to the ground. I looked around and noticed that, with the exception of the band, all the other ponies were also bowing. It made me very uncomfortable.

I got down on my hands and knees right in front of the mayor. "What are you looking for?" I whispered.

The mayor jumped back in surprise. "I-I-I… "

I straightened up so I was sitting on my own heels. "Listen, Miss Mayor, I really appreciate the effort you put into all this, but you don't need to stand on ceremony for me. Please, stand up." She did. "Good. Now, can you please tell me what this is all about?"

"Well, y-you see, Princess Celestia sent me a message about your pending visit. The message said that we should make certain your visit was a pleasant one as befitting a member of the royal family. So, as per her instructions, we all came out to greet you."

"Ah, Mother, of course." I tossed in an eye roll for effect. "While I greatly appreciate this, my visit here is purely for pleasure. I don't want any fanfare or bowing, especially bowing. Please treat me as you would any other visitor to your fair city."

"As you wish, Prince Christopher." She backed away before turning to give the crowd my instructions. I could see relief washing over her as she trotted away.

Twilight walked up next to me, I was still on my knees and therefore at eyelevel. "Well, that certainly went better than it did in Canterlot."

"Yeah, Mom's letter must have been riddled with either positive things about _me_, or horrible threats of death and destruction if I wasn't happy." Twilight nodded and looked very serious, then she giggled.

Pinkie came up on my other side and dipped her head under my hand so that I would have no other choice but to either rub or move my hand, I chose rub. It made her happy and it didn't bother me. "If you don't want any fanfare, do you still want to have fun?"

"Pinkie, if that's your way of asking me if I want a party, I would have to be a complete idiot to say no." her smile got so big, I thought her head would split. "Besides, I haven't had a party since I was four."

Pinkie shot two meters into the air, gasped incredibly loudly, then shot off like a rocket propelled Wonderbolt. "Well, I don't mean to ruin the surprise, Darling, but I believe you might be getting a welcome party later on," Rarity informed me.

I nodded and then spotted Spike pushing through the crowd. "As long as my little buddy is there," I scooped Spike up and set him on my shoulders, "then it should be a blast."

It was a small blast. The only ponies there were the six I arrived with, their sisters, who were still a little nervous around me, and Spike. That was fine though, I didn't really expect ponies who learned of my species only the day before to be all that willing to attend a party in my honor. However, a party with only a few friends can still be a great party. With plenty of pies and cake and punch and candy for the whole town, we had more than enough to go around. If Celestia knew how many calories I took in that night, I think she would have force fed me carrots for a month.

Afterward, the girls all left and it was time for bed. Twilight led me upstairs to the loft. Getting through the door was a tight fit, but the ceilings were high and the space was large. Her bed and Spike's basket were on a second level, my temporary cot was on the main floor below. It wasn't the most comfortable bed, but it was big enough for me and that's all I cared about.

"Hey, Chris?" Twilight called from the edge of her loft within a loft.

I stood up and was nearly at eye level with the second floor. "Yeah, Twi?"

"I'm sorry nopony came to your party."

"Thanks, Twi, but I had a good time anyway. Maybe ponies will warm up to me in time. At least, nopony screamed and ran away, right?"

She giggled, "yeah, I guess that's good. Well, we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings."

"Yep. Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Chris."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

I woke up at dawn, as usual, but it took me a few seconds to realize where I was. Waking up in royal bedchambers for fourteen years and then suddenly waking inside of a tree can be a little disorienting. Fortunately, I could also smell pancakes. I assumed it was Spike cooking since I could hear Twilight snoring away in her bed above me.

I went downstairs and found that I was correct, Spike was indeed cooking pancakes. "Morning, Spike."

"Morning, Chris. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, but Aunt Luna wouldn't let me have a nightmare if I wanted to, so there wasn't really an option. Your pancakes smell really good by the way."

"Thanks, I cook breakfast for Twilight every morning, so I've had lots of practice."

"Need any help?"

"Can you cook?"

"Umm… no, no I cannot. You know, chefs and all." 

Spike laughed at my poor excuse for a joke. I sat at the table and chatted with him while he toiled away. He told me he missed Canterlot but how he loved it here in Ponyville even more. He told me about the delicious treats in Sugarcube Corner and all the mischief the three fillies who call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders get into. He also went on and on about a certain seamstress and just how beautiful and generous she is. I had to agree with him on that, Rarity certainly was an attractive mare.

"What are you two doing making all this racket so early?"

"Early? Twilight, I've been getting up at sunrise since I came here and Spike was actually up before that. Don't be mad at us because you stayed up too late."

"What, I had trouble sleeping. I was just too excited to have my favorite cousin over."

"I'm your only cousin, Twilight."

"That doesn't change the fact that I love you and can't wait to show the world what they've been missing out on."

"Thank you, Twilight, that really means a lot to me, and I love you too." Spike sat a plate down in front me and another in front of Twilight. "Plus, you hatched Equestria's best assistant, so you can't be all bad."

Spike waved a dismissive claw, "aw, go on." Twilight and I smirked down at him and waited for it, "I said go on."

After breakfast, we decided to take a stroll through the town. Again, there were no screams or stampedes, but the bowing was getting old. One or two of the ponies even braved greeting me. It was small, but it _was_ progress. I guess having Twilight by my side helped. Spike had remained at the library to help anypony who came by.

Twilight showed me around the town. She pointed out some of her favorite spots, like Quills and Sofas, the spa and Sugarcube Corner. She also pointed out other landmarks, such as the clock tower, theater and the schoolhouse.

I was falling in love with the little town, it somehow reminded me of my home on Earth, though I don't know why. I had seen fancy my whole life, I was liking the change of pace. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't missing my family already, even if it was just a _tiny_ bit.

"…and this is the town hall," Twilight pointed out the large, cylindrical building. "Obviously, this is where town meetings are held and where the mayor takes care of the day-to-day business of running the town."

"Hmm, interesting," I said sarcastically. A thought crossed my mind, "do you suppose the mayor would mind me popping in real quick? I wanted to talk to her about something."

"Well, you are the prince of Equestria, I'm pretty sure you can do whatever you want," Twilight answered with a smile.

"Yeah, but you know I never liked to use the crown as a free pass. I'll just ask if she can see me and if she's busy, I'll leave," I shrugged for emphasis.

"Alright, and afterward?"

"We'll play it by ear."

I walked inside with Twilight beside me. There was nothing much to speak of as far as decorations, a few newspaper clippings, a picture of Ponyville from a balloon, a hoof painted map of the town and photos of the princesses on their visits. The secretary at the desk was scribbling away and didn't even look up when we entered.

"Can I help you?" she asked with her snout still buried in her paperwork.

"Yes, we wish to speak with the mayor," I replied.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no we don't, is that a problem?"

"Well, of course it… " the secretary finally looked up and saw us, "isn't…, y-y-your highness-es. I'll let her know you wish to see her." The secretary was suddenly very eager to please, "in the meantime, would either of you like some water or tea or a muffin or-"

I silenced her with a raised hand, "no, thank you very much, we just want a quick word with Miss Mare." The secretary tossed in several more bows before she galloped off. "So, I guess we just wait here for-"

"You wanted to see me, your majesty?" the mayor asked as she slid to a halt in front of me and quickly bowed.

"Yes, Mayor Mare, but I want to reiterate, you don't need to treat me any differently than you would any other pony. My visit is for vacation and nothing more. I would like you to simply address me as Chris for the remainder of my time here."

"As you wish, yo- Chris."

"Excellent. Now, the reason I came in here today was simply to thank you for the very warm welcome you gave me yesterday. It couldn't have been easy to arrange all that in the time it took me to get from the palace to the train station."

"Oh, well… you're welcome." Relief washed over the mayor as she realized she wasn't in trouble. "I must say, when I read in the paper that Princess Celestia had a son, I was very surprised. Then to find out you weren't a pony, but rather a species from another world, I think I can safely say we were all shocked. So when Princess Celestia sent me a letter saying you were coming here, I knew we needed to show that Ponyville was a town where you could at least have a chance."

"Well, I wanted to let you know that I appreciated the effort and I will let Mother know how well you've treated me." This made the mayor seem very pleased. "Also, I hope there are no hard feelings for my little joke at your expense yesterday."

"Uh… no, no harm done. Think nothing of it."

"Good, good. Alright, we'll let you get back to work. I'm sure there is a lot to be done so we won't take any more of your time." I couldn't help but notice her letting out a breath of relief, she had done well to hide her anxiety for as long as she did.

With my goal completed, Twilight and I left the mayor's office and headed for the marketplace. It would give me the best opportunity to actually meet my little ponies, as Celestia always called them, and maybe do away with any tensions about my appearance that may still exist, and I was betting there was a lot. I might even get something to eat.

I had never really gotten chance to see an actual marketplace, with the exception of the time I fell through Fancy Pants' skylight, so this whole thing was amazing to me. To see ponies trying to barter and haggle over wares was an entirely new experience, as the chefs did all the daily shopping and Celestia made all my clothes. The sights and the smells were only part of the adventure though, the real experience is in the participation. I was just happy Celestia had given me some bits to spend on my vacation.

But what to spend them on? I didn't need any fruits or veggies, and if I did, Twilight would be the one who would know the best stall to go to. I was temporarily living in a library, so I didn't need any books (plus the library at the castle was unparalleled). There had to be something.

Twilight and I were about halfway through the market and she was happily lecturing me on how to properly barter. She was just in the middle of telling me that nopony pays the listed price when we heard a familiar voice.

"Twi, Chris, over here!" Applejack called to us. We made our way to her stall. Surprisingly, she was selling apples.

"Good afternoon, Applejack," Twilight greeted her.

"How's it going?" I asked. Applejack was about to answer, when I got distracted by somepony ducking behind the stall, as if to hide from me. "Hey, who's that?"

"Huh, ugh, Apple Bloom, get out frum there 'n' greet thu prince."

The little filly slowly peeked out from behind the stand, revealing just one big orange eye. The pink bow she always wore bobbed comically as she nodded at me before ducking back to her hiding place.

I chuckled and sat cross-legged on the ground to minimize my size. "You're still scared of me aren't you?" I asked the stall. I was rewarded with a tiny 'mmhmm'. "Well, you don't need to be. I promise I won't do anything to hurt you. Please, come out from there and say 'hello'. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to just sit here and talk to your sister's stand and look crazy."

"Come on, AB, get on out here. Ah already told ya Chris was uh nice guy, didn't Ah?" Another 'mmhmm' came from the fruit. "Then come out uh there." The tiny, cute, little filly slowly stepped out and made her way over to her sister, where she promptly hid again. "Oh, fer Pete's sake, Apple Bloom!" Applejack chastised shortly before she took a big sidestep and standing next to me, leaving her sister unguarded.

Apple Bloom kept switching her gaze and expression from shocked betrayal at her sister, to uncertainty at Twilight, and pure fear and nervousness at me. Tentatively, she lifted a hoof and took her first step toward me. Slowly, very slowly, she approached, stopping a few feet from me and raised a hoof in a hoofshaking gesture. Carefully and _very_ gently, I grasped her hoof in my hand and gave it one shake before releasing it.

"It's nice to finally formally meet you, Apple Bloom. Though, we've met before haven't we?" Apple Bloom looked up at me with a questioning look. "You were one of the three fillies I came across outside the Whitetail Woods, aren't you?" Now she looked shocked.

"That's right. Her 'n' her lil' friends are thu ones that came screamin' ta us about some munster tryin' ta eat 'em."

"Ah… so they're the ones who are to blame for our little fight then." Apple Bloom was nearly terrified now. I was only feeling a little guilty about it, I was still having a bit too much fun to stop now. Plus, Applejack seemed to have caught on to what I was up to and played along. "So your punishment at the castle was her fault? Hmm, something should be done about this, don't you agree Applejack?"

"Darn-tootin', but whut do ya suggest?" Apple Bloom was visibly shaking now.

"I think," I placed a hand on my chin to mimic being deep in thought, "that she and her friends," pause for effect, "shall be forced to accompany me to…" I was only barely holding back my smile, "Sugarcube Corner where we will all have some milkshakes and discuss this like mature ponies."

Apple Bloom's jaw nearly hit the ground. "Ah think that sounds 'bout right. Now, run along Apple Bloom and gather fer friends. We'll meet ya there." Seeing her short little legs giving their all was awfully cute. It reminded me a lot of Cotton Tail, even though she was far younger than this filly, and made me miss her. Not even a full day away from home and I'm already homesick? Lame.

It was an hour before the three fillies showed up at Sugarcube Corner. I was already there with Applejack and Twilight. We were at a table in the corner of the room and everypony else was keeping their distance from us. Sadly, they did that on their own.

Pinkie had come by the table a few times and kept us laughing while we waited. Even Mister and Missus Cake came over to talk. I thought they would have been nervous, but they said that since Pinkie said I was a good stallion, they knew they had no reason to be afraid. I felt lucky to have her as a friend. Though they admitted to being a little intimidated by my stature, both physical and political. At least they felt safe enough around me to bring out their twin foals, Pumpkin and Pound, who I fell in love with instantly and threatened to confiscate for official purposes. I just couldn't help myself, they were so darn cute. Sadly I had to return them to their parents.

Luckily, three more cute little fillies came in to join us. Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trudged up to the table like they were walking into their own exile. I was only just able to hide my smile. Too bad the effect was ruined by Applejack and Twilight giggling. Oh well.

"C'mon over girls, I promise not to bite. I've just finished a slice of cake," I teased.

"Stop that, Chris, or you'll scare them off, again," Twilight chastised.

"Fine, fine. Sit down girls, let's talk." They did as instructed, though they huddled very tightly around each other. "Now, on to why I called you here. About three weeks ago, you three caused quite the ordeal and got your sisters into some trouble at the castle. So, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"We're sorry," was chorused by the three.

"We didn't know who or what you were," Scootaloo started.

"And when you came crashing out of the bushes saying how hungry you were," Sweetie Belle continued.

"We thought ya wanted ta eat us," Apple Bloom finished.

"Yeah, I figured out that much, but isn't that kinda like how the town used to act around your friend Zecora?" I asked them. They all looked shocked and then ashamed. "Now, I understand you being afraid of me, instincts are hard to override, but you didn't even give me a chance."

"That's right, and ya'll nearly caused uh panic."

"You didn't exactly give him a chance either, Applejack," Twilight pointed out.

Applejack opened her mouth and raised a hoof as if to argue, but slowly lowered her hoof to the floor again. "Yeah, well… Ah guess yer right, 'n' Ah'm sorry 'bout that, Chris."

"That's okay, Applejack, you've taken your punishment and we got to start over. As far as I'm concerned, we're good." I held out a fist and she bumped hers against it. "Besides, it's not the first time I've been called a monster. Heck, I've heard at least six others call me that today alone."

"What?!" both Twilight and Applejack called out. "When? I didn't hear any of that and I was with you all day," Twilight asked.

"True, but your hearing is focused, so you may have not been listening for it. My hearing may not be as good as a pony's, but I can always hear what happens behind me. I highly doubt they knew that when we walked by." Twilight and Applejack were mad. Well, Applejack was mad, Twilight was shaking with rage. "It's okay, ladies, I've gotten used to it by now. I mean, there have only been three ponies who weren't startled by my appearance the first time we met, (those three being Celestia, Cadence and Cotton Tail) I find it's best to just forget about it and move on."

"No, that jest ain't right. Nopony should be shunned 'cause uh how they look."

Twilight probably would have agreed, but she seemed to be on the verge of exploding. She had seen me crying over that particular hardship for years and, to put it mildly, she didn't appreciate it.

"Ya mean, even though everypony knows you're uh prince," Apple Bloom dared to speak, "they still say such mean things?" I nodded as I rubbed Twilight's withers, trying to calm her down.

"That's… that's… that's just so… wrong," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, they're all being meanies," Sweetie Belle concluded.

They were all surprised when I chuckled. "You know, little Fluffy Butt said the same thing. When Mother tried to introduce me to Equestria, something happened and nearly everypony there screamed and ran like I was gonna eat them. It was not a good day." The three fillies suddenly realized that they had done exactly the same thing. I could see it in their faces, they really did feel bad about that whole event. "Listen, how about this, you three and I start over, just like I did with your sisters. We wipe the slate clean and start fresh today, like nothing ever happened. Does that sound good to you girls?" They didn't even need to look at each other, they each nodded happily. "Great, now let's get some ice cream in our bellies. Hey, Pinkie!"

And that's how I made friends with the three fillies who once thought they would be my lunch.


End file.
